Darkest Before Dawn
by Shiming-Star
Summary: When obsession becomes deadly, it becomes life itself. An account of a band of misfits' attempt at salvation from a lunatic's Perfect Dreamworld... a pursuit that was doomed from the start.
1. Chapter 1

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 1

Tails' POV

I tapped my pencil on my desk frustrated. I had spent most of my night studying for this and I was stuck on the 1st problem of the test. I looked around the math atmosphere to see if there was some miracle and the answers were tacked up on the wall or ceiling. Of course, there was none. I returned my attention to the paper when my math teacher, Ms. Eagle, gave me a dirty look. 'Great,' I muttered to myself, 'just great.'

I mumbled and continued talking to myself, 'Math. I hate math.'

Then don't do it, a chilled voice rang in my ear.

The voice was so deadly, so cold; I almost shot out of my chair. I wanted to run away from it, but the problem was it was in my head. So I said, 'Who're you?'

Just another random voice in your head. It said, but then quickly added, Or am I?

'Stop with the rhetorical questions,' I snapped.

I heard it chuckle at me. Its laugh…. actually scared me. Are consciences supposed to scare you?

Snappy as usual, it laughed. And straight to the point. Now, Miles, be a good boy and solve the math problem.

'I don't know how,' I told it.

The area of a circle is quite easy, it told me, the formula is Area pie r squared. You should know that. You were the one up studying last night.

I wanted to prove the voice – the girl voice actually – that it was wrong, but I realized the right formula was what she said for the problem. I grumbled and wrote it down and was soon to the next problem.

Do you need help with that one also?

'No,' I answered.

It was another problem for finding the area of a circle so it was a snap now that I actually got how to do it. Then I was to the 3rd.

Two more, it notified me.

'Two more?' I asked. 'That's bullshit. There are 33 problems. I got 30 to go and I only have a half a period left, so go away.'

But do you know how to find the area of a square?

I stared down at the paper. Finally I said, 'Blurt it.'

Area side squared.

I wrote it down and solved the problem.

One more.

'What are you talking about!' I cried. I began to write do the A for area. 'I have 29, 29! Can't you see that?' I began on my equal sign and s, 'Now go away!'

It laughed, this time chilling me to the bone, Oh no, Miles, you don't understand!

I wrote down a 2 by the r for squared and started on the next line. My hand was beginning to tremble slightly.

Now I'm in your HEAD, kitsune. Kitsune, kitsune, the cursed few, more interesting than Sonikku.

I began the A on the second line and my equal sign. My hand was wobbling more now…

I'm in your HEAD, and I will never go AWAY.

I put down 18 squared. My whole arm was shaking now…

I'll be in your DREAMS.

I slowly moved my hand over and wrote down 18 x 18. I could barely write…

You don't want to run AWAY.

I began to solve 18 x 18. It was almost impossible…. my feet were tied in a lock together now… 'I'm a kitsune!' I cried out. 'No one is going to do whatever they want with me! No one!'

It laughed at me and mocked me, Yes, but then you were STRONG! Now you don't know what to do…

18 x 18 324. I was sweating.

Don't be afraid, kitsune, MY Miles. I can think for you.

I moved my hand back over stressing to at least put down an A. I succeeded, but a drop of sweat hit the paper.

I can think for EVERYONE.

I put down the equal sign. I couldn't breath.

I will always be with you.

I put down 324 ft squared.

The voice went away.

"Miles?" A voice asked.

I jumped out of my chair and quickly glanced around the room. "Wh-What!"

I heard giggling across the class, but they quickly returned to their test. Ms. Eagle motioned me up. I gulped at the thought. Had I said any of the conversation with that cold voice aloud? I stood up, picking up my test, and began to walk up to her. I glanced around at people and few times and noticed something. Amy was giving me a worried face. I shot a confused one right back at her.

I reached Ms. Eagle's desk.

"Miles," she whispered gently, "you don't look so well."

I looked to her. "I'm fine," I lied. I felt horrible to tell the truth. I was freezing all over my body, but my face was burning. I could barely feel the paper at my fingertips. My gaze was hazy and my forehead roared in pain.

"Let me see your test," she said, motioning to it.

I slowly handed it to her – or at least tried to.

She took a look at it and then fixed her eyes on me. "You only have 4 problems done and only 15 minutes left in class. This is unlike you, hon." She reached over her oak desk and felt my forehead. "Oh my gosh, you're burning!"

"Come on, I'm taking you to the nurse!" She informed me. She threw down my test and grabbed my hand. "Come along now." And I was lead out of the room, but first I noticed Amy's bothered stare was following me all the way…

Sonic's POV

I opened one of my eyes when the phone began to ring. Damn. Just in the middle of my nap too. I pushed myself up from my laying position on the couch and retrieved my wireless phone. I pressed the talk button, "Hello?"

"Hello," A voice said to me in greeting, "is this Sonic?"

"Yes it is."

"Hi, this is the nurse from Knothole Elementary calling for Miles Prower."

(I don't know if that is his real school…. If you know the name of his school, send it in a review. Thanks)

"Miles?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Sir, he is running a serious temperature of 104. I need you to come here immediately. We might have to send him to the hospital."

My breathing got heavier, "Is – is anything else wrong?"

"I will go over details when you come, sir."

"Be there. Bye." I hung up the phone. I threw it down on the couch and grabbed my coat. I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my car keys off of the shelf. I flung open the door and didn't bother to shut it – like anyone would want to break into my house.

I moved over to the car and wondered if I should even bother taking it. I could just run. Yes, it would be faster, but what if we need a car to take Tails to the hospital with? I decided to forget the idea of a car and sped off down the road.

'Tails,' I thought to myself. I had to always remember that if he was sick, he was sick. But it is hard to when his kind of "regular" sick is life-threatening every time. Why couldn't it ever been a simple cold or a one day flu. I wouldn't mind that. 'Every time he gets sick it scares the shit outta me.'

You care a lot for the kitsune, don't you? a cold voice asked.

It was so cold that it slowed me down a bit. I have never heard something that…. bitter. 'What do you want?' I asked it.

It ignored my question and continued, What an interesting kitsune he is, this Miles… He looks just like him…

'Just like who!' I screamed at it.

It chuckled, Nothing you should worry about, Sonikku. Don't you have a school to get to?

'STOP TALKING TO ME!'

There was no response.

I smirked. Taught that voice who's the boss.

I skidded to a halt at the front of Tails' school and walked in. I glanced around. Now where's the nurse's office?

"Are you Sonic?" A voice asked me.

I looked over to a person behind a desk. "Yah."

She stood up, "Follow me."

We rushed down a hallway and turned into the nurse's agency. I found that there was no one else in there except for the nurse and…. Tails! He was lying on the bed asleep. I smiled. At least he was peaceful…

"Oh thank god," the nurse cried, standing up from her chair, "I have some good news for you, sir. Tails' temperature has gone down. It's no longer life-threatening."

I sighed in relief. Oh thank god… thank god…

"The ice really helped," she continued, "brought it down to 103. It should be able to heal on its own if he gets plenty of rest."

I nodded. "Want me to take him?"

"Would you?" she asked.

"Sure. Does he need any of his homework or anything?"

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

"Ok." I walked over to the sleeping kitsune and picked him up. "Thank you."

"Anytime," she answered.

I took him and left.

Knuckles' POV

I took a bite into my sandwich and chewed it vigilantly. I sat on the grassy plains of Angel Island. I smiled at the taste of the food in my mouth. Rouge actually made something worth eating…

I shoved the small half into my mouth and soon had devoured it. I hope she believes I actually ate it… I stood up and continued down the road I was traveling on before. I was a bit disturbed about leaving the Master Emerald and coming home for a bit, but if I didn't Rouge would kill me – and I didn't feel like being killed.

The wind stopped blowing across the grasslands and I stopped also. It was quiet. Too quiet. I continued on at a slower pace, hoping that the gentle breeze would pick up again.

It didn't. I sighed. It felt different here without the coil…

What a pretty place, A voice said in my mind.

I stopped. The voice was too bitter for me to handle. I said nothing.

I would continue on if I were you, Knuckles, it told me harshly.

I began my journey once more, but with more caution than before.

The voice laughed at me, How pitiful you are!

'Take that back!' I yelled in my mind.

Whatever you say…

There was silence.

Faster, it commanded.

I didn't know why, but my legs obey it.

It chuckled once more, The kitsune withstood me longer.

'Tails?' I asked.

It continued, And I didn't try with Sonikku. But he will be easier when the time comes…

'What are you talking about!'

… Just keep going, Knuckles.

I groaned and continued on. Whatever or whoever this is was getting weird on me. I noticed that the breeze was back… I closed my eyes. All I could see was darkness behind them. And then suddenly a saw in the abyss a hedgehog sort thing. But it had two tails like a kitsune. It turned to me and flashed its red eyes. I opened mine immediately.

The voice inside laughed.

I found myself in front of my house.

Go in, it commanded me.

I walked inside.

There I saw Rouge on the couch. She looked to me, "Finally. I thought you were never coming." She stopped and blinked, "Hey, you don't look to well, you look wan. You all right?"

"No," I answered, "there's this –"

Forget about me, but instead turn on the TV to channel 6.

"This what?" Rouge asked me.

"This…. this…." I stammered. "I can remember. Something about some voice. Probably not important." I tried to remember what was going to say, but it didn't work. I sat down next to her. "Hey, let's turn on the Channel 6 News."

"Why?" She asked.

"Dunno." I answered. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Once it was on we stared in disbelief at the screen.

The Headline?

"EGGMAN FOUND DEAD"


	2. Chapter 2

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 2  
  
Knuckles' POV  
  
My stare, my mind, was set on the TV screen headline.  
  
The news reporter began her shocking story, "Today at exactly 8:36 A.M. police officers found the mad-man Eggman found dead in his home while investigating the surrounding area."  
  
I immediately grabbed the telephone and dialed up Sonic.  
  
* * * Sonic's POV  
  
I sat Tails down on the couch after I removed the phone and my magazine I fell asleep reading before the phone call. I looked up at my clock on the wall: 11:35 A.M. Almost lunch time.  
  
I moved into the kitchen and looked in the pantry to see what I had to eat. I seized a cereal box and put it on the table. After that I got out a bowl and the gallon of milk and poured the cereal into the bowl until it was full. Then I added milk.  
  
I was about to take the first bite of my lunch, but.....  
  
^Ring, ring, ring,^ taunted the voice from earlier.  
  
'What do you ---!?'  
  
The phone began to ring.  
  
I rushed into the family room and picked up the phone hoping it didn't wake Tails. I moved back into the kitchen and then said, "Hello?"  
  
"Sonic? This is Knuckles. Turn on Channel 6 now."  
  
"Channel 6?" I asked. I thought for a moment and then asked, "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the Master --?"  
  
"Just turn to the damn channel."  
  
"Ok," I muttered in a confused voice. I walked into the family room once more and picked up the remote and flicked on the TV. I changed the channel to 6.  
  
My mouth dropped when I saw the headline:  
  
EGGMAN FOUND DEAD  
  
The news reporter said, "Investigators say he could have died from anything except form another person's hands. It could have been a heart attack, stroke, the effect of obesity, or it could just be nature taking its course..."  
  
"Call everyone else. Tell them to meet there," I told him blankly. I hung up the phone not wanting to listen to Knuckles' remark.  
  
"Yes," continued the news reporter as she walked along the outside of Eggman's lab, "Eggman's death was cause by nothing more than nature." She stopped by dead robots. "But what about this?"  
  
I lean in closer to the TV, "What?!"  
  
The voice laughed coldly inside.  
  
I was going to tell it to shut up, but I heard a small voice from behind me on the couch: "What's going on?"  
  
I looked back to find Tails awake sitting up. His eyes were glued on the TV monitor in front of him. "Tails," I muttered, "go back to --."  
  
"Eggman's dead?" He asked. He looked to me, "What did ya do?!"  
  
"Nothing. Now quiet," I told him. I sat down next to him and we both turned our attention to the television.  
  
"Thousands upon thousands of robots are now destroyed," She told us. "But nothing in the body itself was touched. Only the brain – the very life- support of the beings' existence has been damaged in each one. It's like it... exploded on its own. There is no way nature could have done this... or did it?" She took in a deep breath and started again, "Investigators say that as soon as Eggman died, the robots gave up the will to survive. But this is only a theory, and only time can tell..." She stopped and then said, "We'll be right back after this commercial break."  
  
A commercial came on.  
  
I turned off the TV and looked to the small kitsune next to me, "Listen, I'm going to go... somewhere... I want you to get some sleep while I'm gone, all right?"  
  
"But I wanna go!" He cried. "Please?"  
  
"No, you're sick. A temp. of 103."  
  
"That isn't that sick."  
  
"Yeah right." I stood up and told him, "I'm not going to argue. You're not going and that's that. Nothing can change my mind."  
  
"Awww," he muttered.  
  
I began to walk away from him and towards the door, "I don't want to hear it."  
  
^Let him come,^ the voice said inside, ^how much can it hurt?^  
  
I shook my head to block it off and continued towards the door.  
  
^LET THE KITSUNE COME!^  
  
"On second thought," I said. I looked back to him, "Why don't you come? How much can it hurt?"  
  
"Yes!" He said, jumping up from the couch.  
  
We left.  
  
* * * Tails' POV  
  
As we ran at full speed down the road towards Eggman's, I stared at Sonic. Why'd he let me come? He said nothing can change his mind, but yet he did. I didn't even really complain or talk back. I decided not to ask him about it...  
  
I felt my head. I was still burning. My eyes began to drowse. I shouldn't have come along. But I couldn't pass this up. Eggman dead. I can't believe it. I had to see it with my own eyes.  
  
When we reached the mad-man's lab, we skidded to a halt in front of the rest of the team – or the rest of the team that didn't have school. Big and Rouge was there, so was Knuckles and Shadow.  
  
"Figured out anything?" Sonic asked.  
  
"They wouldn't let us in without you," Knuckles answered. We all started to walk towards the crime scene surrounded by cop cars and yellow block off tape. "Don't you think this might be a plan of his? Making everyone think he's dead?"  
  
"I don't think Eggman would go that far," Shadow said.  
  
Sonic agreed. "He would not just dispose all of his robots like that."  
  
"So you think he's really dead?" I asked.  
  
Sonic nodded.  
  
The sergeant in charge of this situation and greeted us. "We've been waiting for you, Sonic."  
  
"What happened?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Don't know really," he answered. "Wanna take a look inside?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
We began to walk inside of the house and the sergeant followed us.  
  
"Alone." Sonic muttered.  
  
"Yessir!"  
  
"Thanks, sergeant. Keep up the good work."  
  
We entered.  
  
The house was dark and musty. The light bulbs were shot... nothing seemed to be working anywhere in the estate. Not even the air conditioning. We made our way down the main hallway and up the stairs connecting to it, not bothering to go into any of the rooms lining it. When we reached the top of the steps we entered Eggman's lab.  
  
Eggman lied on the floor dead.  
  
There was a surprised gasp. I didn't know if someone else had let it out or if it was me. Sonic looked very astounded, Rouge was disgusted and scared, Knuckles stared blankly, Shadow had a small smirk on his face and Big stumbled back.  
  
Whoever said dead things looked peaceful, they were wrong – wrong at least in Eggman's case. His eyes laid open and had a blank while color to them. His face looked angry, scared and almost as if he had gone mad. What made it worst was the only light unbroken in the house was shining right on him, almost as if it had been staged.  
  
We looked to Sonic for a response.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
There was a sudden bang from the other side of the wall. We looked over to it. It happened again.... and again... and again...  
  
"Wanna check it out?" Big asked quietly.  
  
"Let's do it," Shadow smirked.  
  
We guardedly exited the lab and went to our right until the next door, which was shut tight. Sonic turned and pulled the knob to open it, but nothing happened.  
  
"Move," Knuckles told him. Sonic obeyed and the red echidna punched down the door. It was dark in the room – too dark almost.  
  
Suddenly a robot jumped out of the room and hit Knuckles into the wall. It started screaming and running around insanely. When it saw me, it stopped its officious and stared at me straight in the eye. Finally it muttered, "You must leave, kitsune.... Something evil lurks in this place...." He started to twitch. "It drove Master insane... so insane it killed him... It meddled with my brothers' minds.... And as we all died, It laughed so coldly....."  
  
The machine started to go insane once more. "AH! Get them away! Don't let them eat me!" It ran around running from something not chasing him. "Kill the snakes! Kill them, kill them!" A boom came from where the brain was and the robot fell over dead.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sonic said. "Let's get outta here."  
  
Everyone nodded in totally agreement.  
  
^Hehehe,^ the voice giggled, ^now the real fun begins...^  
  
Sonic took my arm and we all began to run down the hallway towards the stairs. Once we mastered the stairs, we could go no farther. Out of the ground came shadows of chameleons. They flashed their red eyes and when they saw us, they leaped.  
  
The voice's laugher echoed off the walls. I could tell everyone could hear it now.  
  
One launched itself at me and next thing I know everything goes black....  
  
~ V ~ I ~ S ~ I ~ O ~ N ~  
  
I slowly opened my eyes to find myself under a bright blue sky. I shot up and looked around. I was in.... a field of flowers? The breeze blew gently across the plains making the flowers sway ever so slightly.  
  
I stood up and searched the meadows for any sign of my friends. Nothing. I wanted to call their names, but decided not to. I didn't know where I was and I could draw someone else's attention.  
  
I continued my search and then stopped when I saw something heading my way. I dimmed my eyes from the sun overhead. The figure was orange... The closer it got, the more I could make it out. It was a kitsune! A girl kitsune to be exact. She wore beautiful flowers all over her head – and her herself was beautiful. I had never seen something like her in my life.  
  
A gorgeous voice began to sing: "Win dain a lotica, en vai turi, si lo ta. Fin dein a loluca, en dragu a sei lain. Vi fa-ru les shutai am. Enriga-lint." She stopped at a clear spot in the fields that was covered in grass and clicked her fingers. A blanket appeared and all sorts of food began to appear with it. "Win chent a lotica, en vai turi, solota. Fin dien a loluca, si katigrua neuver. Floreria for chesti. Si entina..." After everything was set up, she sat down smiling. A blue bird flew overhead and she put her hand up. It landed on her hand. "Lalala... Fontina Blu Cent De Cravi esca letisimo. Lalala... de quantian la Finde reve." She slowly let up her hand and the blue bird flew off. "Win dain a lotica. En vai tu ri. Si lo ta. Find ein a loluca. En dragu a sei lain. Vi fa-ru les shutai am. En riga-lint." She stopped.  
  
I stared.  
  
She looked over to me and smiled, "Oh. I've been expecting you. Come, have a seat."  
  
I faltered, but decided it couldn't hurt. I made my way over to her through all the flowers and sat down across from her. I decided to first tell her my name, "Hi... my name's --."  
  
"—Miles 'Tails' Prower," She said. "I know everything about you." She held up a slice of cake. "Would you like some cake?"  
  
"S-sure," I answered. She handed it to me and I nibbled on the end. It felt so refreshing in my mouth. Soon it was gone.  
  
She looked off into the distance and her smile turned into a frown.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
The kitsune looked back at me and smiled, "Oh nothing. Are you still hungry?"  
  
"No, but thanks." I looked around and then to her. "Where am I?"  
  
"My dream world," She answered.  
  
"D-Dream world?" I asked. "Who are you?"  
  
She giggled, "I am –." Her gaze fell on where she was looking to before. "Come on," She said quickly, "we must go." She stood up and all the stuff on the blanket began to disappear out of sight.  
  
"Where?" I asked, standing up. "Why?"  
  
The blanket vanished beneath my feet.  
  
She continued to look that way and grabbed my hand. "Come on!"  
  
We began to sprint through the flowers. I looked behind me to find nothing. I looked back to her confused. She was still looking the same way as before. I looked back again. This time I saw something. It was far away and not too noticeable. It was a dark figure. It looked like a hedgehog, but yet two fox tails traiedl it. It sped up on us and started to catch up.  
  
The girl started to run faster. The blue emeralds in her eyes were shaking from fear. I noticed the flowers were beginning to cripple up and die. Soon the land was a barren wasteland. The shadow chameleons began to rise from the ground...  
  
The kitsune girl tripped.  
  
We both collapsed onto our stomachs. I tried to get up but something was pushing me down. I looked over to the girl. She was crying. I tried again. Nothing.  
  
Suddenly I heard a blade slice through something and the weight released itself. I stood up dragging the girl up with me. I looked behind me to find a black kitsune. Most of his fur was a midnight black. He wore an odd necklace with a blue ruby at the end. His eyes were a dull red color. He held a beautiful decorated sickle in his hand. He looked to us, "GO!"  
  
The girl began to run with me once more. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but now was not the time. We jumped off a cliff and landed on a soft sand mound overlooking the ocean.  
  
"Come on, Tails," she said. We ran off towards the ocean and once at the coast line she grabbed onto me tightly and we took a deep dive into the ocean  
  
~ R ~ E ~ A ~ L ~ I ~ T ~ Y ~  
  
I coughed up water. I found myself in the middle of a forest by a small pond. I stood up and shook the drops of water off of me. "Hello! Anyone here?" Nothing. Had I been dreaming? I tried to recall the events before appearing in the flowery field and they came back hazily to me. We were at Eggman's... he was dead... Chameleons came out of the ground.  
  
"Sonic!" I cried. "SONIC, SHADOW, ANYONE!"  
  
No one answered.  
  
This was when I realized I was all alone...  
  
(Scary music) Hehehe. Actually it's not scary at all, but that's ok. Please remember to review. I'd love if you did. Thanks. 


	3. Chapter 3

Darkest Before Dawn: Chapter 3  
  
Tails' POV  
  
Rain....  
  
There was nothing but rain....  
  
As I sprinted through the forest, the rain hit me brutally as it fell from the clouded sky above. With each step I took, water splashed up along with mud. The trees' leaves rusted because of the downpour. The drops of rain were heavy, striking everything under them.  
  
There was no thunder, no lightning....  
  
Just rain...  
  
Except for the droplets hitting the ground below, there was silence.  
  
I hoped I was going the right way. The way back to Eggman's old place. Maybe Sonic would be there, or Shadow, or someone... just maybe. Or even better, maybe this could be a dream. Yes, a dream. That's what it was. In reality this is impossible. Ha, me and my imagination.  
  
I chuckled, but stopped when I realized the voice had joined in.  
  
^Hello,^ it sniggered.  
  
I tried to run faster, but it was not possible. I kept repeating to myself that all this was a dream. Wait.... Not a dream. A nightmare.  
  
^Miles, why do you fret?^ it asked me coldly, ^Why do you run? There is....... no ESCAPE from me!^  
  
The word 'escape' burned in my head.  
  
^No one can run,^ it told me, ^all will fall!^  
  
I heard more rustling in the trees then from before. My heart was about to explode. Just a nightmare, just a nightmare... this is all just a nightmare.  
  
It continued, ^No one knows.... how this crazed world goes. At least, that's what they think. I know it all. Your race will fall. Unless they hit that hard wall... standing between you and I.^  
  
There was silence. Was it gone? Was I going to wake up? I hoped so. But my wishes did not turn true. Instead I felt something press again my check, like lips. I whipped around to see if anyone was there, but there was no one in sight.  
  
^All I can see is fire..... but yet in you I see the light... it calls to me in the night. You are worth it, worth my time.... Worth my might and my mind. I want you, I need you, and soon you'll be mine... I just need a little more time.^  
  
I tripped and when head first into the mud. And it hurt. Dreams don't hurt. This is when I made my earth-shattering realization: This Was Not A Dream. I panicked and tried to get up, but I couldn't. My arms had given out on me, same with my legs.  
  
^My path is set, my goal ready to achieve...... Nothing can stop me, nobody can.... Soon you'll be mine, you look too much like him to let you go.^  
  
"Hey! You OK, kid?"  
  
I looked up to find a mouse in a soldier's outfit looking down at me.  
  
I gulped. "Yeah," I lied. I tried to get up and this time I was able to.  
  
"What are you doing all the way out here?" He asked me.  
  
I looked to him. "..... I don't know."  
  
"Fair enough. Where ya headed?"  
  
"I'm trying to get to Eggman's place. Long story." I answered. I was holding myself back from hugging him. I was that happy to see another solid person around here.  
  
"Eggman's?" He asked. "That's a long time away. 10 days journey from here to Knothole at least."  
  
"Te-te-ten days!?" I sputtered. Impossible. Just impossible. I was just at Eggman's 20 or so minutes ago. But 10 days? That's nuts. There was no way it was 10 days away. "I live in Knothole though. I was just there --- !"  
  
"Live in Knothole?" He asked. "Well, how'd you get all the way out here?"  
  
I didn't answer cuz in the end, I really didn't know.  
  
He looked around and then said, "Listen. I'll take you to Hatsu Kingdom with my troops and once we're there I'll see if I can get you a plane ticket to Knothole, all right?"  
  
I nodded, "Thanks a lot."  
  
"Sure, kid. Come on. It's dangerous out here."  
  
We walked into the thicker forest in silence.  
  
* * *  
  
There were about ten men in his troop. They had camp set up in a small clearing of the forest. 6 tents were set up around a fire: one for two soldiers and one for the captain. Captain Little to be exact.  
  
Captain Little looked to his troops, who seemed to be having a good time cooking the food and playing around. Then he bellowed, "I'm back."  
  
All of them except for the cook immediately stopped. I heard one of them say "oh shit" as they all went into a line and stood in perfect comparison to each other. The cook stayed in his place and seemed not to notice the distressed faces of his mates.  
  
"Well, seems like you've all been having a good time," the Captain barked at them. "The cook here is the only one doing his job! Who's guarding the place? Huh? It would help if you did, you know." He sighed. "Take a lap."  
  
The men in the line groaned, but left into the forest in a jog.  
  
The cook, who was a dog type animal, waved to us, "Hey, Captain. Hey, little kid that came back with Captain. How is your day?"  
  
The Captain sighed, "Wet."  
  
The only thing I could say was, "I'm not little."  
  
The cook smiled, "Sorry, kid. What's your name?"  
  
"Miles Prower," I told him, "but I like to be called Tails."  
  
"Well, since the others aren't going to be back for sometime..." he took the turkey off the stick hanging above the fire. "Would you like to eat while it's hot, young Master Tails?"  
  
There was an immediate roar from my stomach. I nodded with much anticipation. "Yes please, sir!"  
  
"Come and eat then."  
  
He handed me a leg and I started on it instantly. The cook laughed the Captain smiled. I must have looked pretty pitiful. I noticed I was covered in mud and that the rain had stopped some time ago. Now all I could see was the pitch black sky with stars sown in its cloak. The meat was gone from the turkey leg, so I started to savor the bone.  
  
"Here, here, have more," the cook told me, giving me a large piece of the breast. I continued to eat fully.  
  
The Captain looked to the cook, "I say the men are going to be hungry tonight."  
  
He nodded, "You got it, sir," and handed him a piece  
  
* * *  
  
It had to be midnight now. The mean in the troop were asleep in their humble tents; the Captain in one of his own. I had decided to stay out at the open fire in the center of camp. I knew there was no way I would sleep tonight.  
  
As I stared into the crackling fire, my thinking began. 10 days from Knothole.... 10 days. Sonic... gone. My friends... no where in sight. I rubbed my cheek. Where I was kissed – or at least, I think I was kissed – burned. Literally. A spot on my check had what Douglas – the cook – classified as a 2nd degree burn. When he asked me what happened, I shrugged. He would think I was nuts if I told him about the voice.  
  
I felt myself drowsing off... I struggled to stay awake. If I fell asleep, who knows what would happen. I could end up like Eggman: dead. I looked around to see if there was anything to keep me conscious.  
  
^It's all right,^ the voice cooed, ^I won't do anything to you... for now.^  
  
I was wide awake now. Should I talk to it? Ignore it? Run? Running wouldn't help... I sat on the log silently hoping it would pass on.  
  
It snickered, ^I know you can hear me, kitsune...^  
  
I overlooked it. Or tried to at least. I tossed a small stick into the flames of the fire to make the fire roar and maybe extinguish the voice inside. There was a sudden rush of wind and it quenched the fire entirely.  
  
I was all alone in the darkness...  
  
^I have a question for you, Miles,^ the voice said. ^What shall I do with your friends... Shall I kill them? Or shall I play with them? FOR A WHILE!?^  
  
I spoke up, 'Don't you dare!'  
  
^Well, aren't we suddenly feisty,^ it said amused. ^You even act just like him...^  
  
"What are you talking about?!" I screamed. 'About' echoed through the cold night air. I covered my mouth. Great...  
  
I was amazed when only Douglas came out of his tent. "Young Master Tails? Is something wrong? Why is the fire out?"  
  
"Something blew it out," I muttered avoiding eye contact with him at all cost.  
  
"You told the thing to get, right?"  
  
"Y-Yeah...."  
  
He lit the fire again with a lighter. He looked to me. "Are you all right? You look terribly sick, Master Tails!"  
  
"I'm fine..." I told him firmly. My head was burning again.  
  
He carefully sat down next to me. "You know, something evil lurks here..."  
  
I turned to him with interest.  
  
"That's why we're stationed out here," he continued knowing I wanted to know more, "to try to find this evil and conquer it." He sighed deeply and fell into a story:  
  
"Sometime ago our Queen – the queen of Hatsu – when through the main trail to Mystic Ruins which would be through this forest. She took 18 of our best warriors with her... but they never did return from that trip... the King sent out 5 troops to track them down. Only a captain that led Troop 278 returned... When he got to us though, he was insane. Drooling, twitching... it was an ugly sight – I was there. The only thing he said was, 'Hail to Shikyo! Hail to Shikyo!' We had to shoot him... then we were sent here. There were 200 hundred of us – 20 in a troop – but now there's only 11 not counting you. I hope we all just make it through tomorrow's trip back to Hatsu..."  
  
I stared. That voice had more victims than I thought. Shikyo? What that its name?  
  
"We found the bodies of everyone out here... everyone but the Queen. The Kingdom still has a pillar of hope that she's alive. Little, but strong..."  
  
"What... what have you seen out here?" I asked him.  
  
"Shadows," he answered.  
  
"Chameleons...?" I breathed.  
  
"Yes... some of those..." he answered. "They're merciless... and then the insane men we have seen are talking about some voice.... We believe that is Shikyo."  
  
So it's official. The voice is undoubtedly real.  
  
"That voice..." I told him. "........... I know it."  
  
He looked to me hazardously. "You.... seen them and heard it?"  
  
"..." I kept silent, but finally said: "They're the reason I'm here. I think."  
  
"Oh, poor child...."  
  
Tada. Third chapter is up. Don't expect it to be up this early every time. Oh, all you lazy butts out there, review. Now. Right now. Not later. Now. 


	4. Chapter 4

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 4  
  
Tail's POV  
  
The rooster crowed. The morning sun brought light to the world... and there was much rejoicing.  
  
"Finally," one of the soldiers said to another, "back to the good life!"  
  
"Yeah," the other answered him, "I can't wait to sit on the couch and flick on the TV. Wonder what's going on round our parts."  
  
Everyone, even me in some ways, was hyper and ready to get underway for Hatsu Kingdom – at least everyone except for Captain. Something seemed to be bothering him. I was assigned to helping him bring out his possessions from his tent and when I went in there I found him sitting there smoking his pipe staring at the wall.  
  
I didn't know what to take out first and was afraid to ask. I know some people who hate to be bothered in such ways when thinking... I was going to leave to ask Douglas if I could do something else for the time being, but the Captain said: "Miles... have you ever seen someone innocent die in front of your eyes?"  
  
"Umm.... Yessir," I nodded. I didn't like thinking about it, so I tried to think of something else.  
  
"Did you make a... grave?"  
  
"... I was too young, sir... or never had time."  
  
He tapped his pipe and kept his gaze at the wall. "Time... time is everything." He stood up. "Start packing things into boxes. Don't care about any order. I'll be back." And he left.  
  
I watched him leave and then examined the tent. Maps were posted all over the wall, a radio – which was broken – and a compass sat on a small packable table, and a rug laid across the floor holding a mattress on it.  
  
"Attention!" I heard the Captain roar. The footsteps of men scurrying to get into their places followed.  
  
I walked over to the tent entrance and peeked out to see what was going on.  
  
The troop – including Douglas in the line this time – were in a perfect line standing up as straight as the body could of possible held them. They all eyed the Captain as he walked across the line examining each of them. Usually a captain would be talking while do this, but he didn't. Instead there was silence.  
  
Captain Little returned to his space front and center ahead to them. "Do... any of you know how long we've been out here?"  
  
"2 weeks, sir!" One of the soldiers responded in an outcry. The others agreed by doing and saying nothing.  
  
"Do you know how many troops were sent out here?"  
  
"10, sir!" Came a replay from another troop member.  
  
"Do you know how many men are in a troop?"  
  
"20, sir!" They all called a once.  
  
"20 X 10 is, as you know, 200," the Captain said. He gave a huge sigh. "2 weeks ago this search/investigation party began. 10 troops – 200 men counting the captains of each squad – went out of Hatsu Kingdom on a mission to find the missing Queen. We came out here to find the truth of whiter she had been killed or not. We came out here to find out what happened to Captain Rogers if you all remember him. And we came out here to find this Shikyo, who was threatening Hatsu itself. 200 men came to figure this out. 200 men...." He paused and closed his eyes to reflect on that day...  
  
I sat down in the then to listen to what he was going to say next.  
  
"In 2 weeks – TWO WEEKS – 189 men were killed. Some where attacked, some died from food poisoning or poison itself, a lot died in the massacre a week ago, but most... most died from insanity. What drove them insane? We don't exactly know..." He paused. "Some killed themselves, some started the massacre, and some tried to burn the camp.... I think you all get the picture."  
  
He began to pace around. His eyes told his men he was reflecting on the past two weeks. "The people – the families – are expecting to see their loved ones come home... some are even expecting us to be bringing our Queen back with us. They're going to be at the gates, the Gates of Hatsu Kingdom, waiting to see them come over the horizon. They are expecting to be able to give them all the hugs and kisses they have... but only we will come. Only the... 12 of us will come." He paused again. "Boys, for a lot of people today will not be a day of joy – but of sorrow. This will be another blow on Hatsu itself."  
  
He stopped pacing and looked to each of them. "There will be lots of crying, sorrow all around us. There is one thing I want you do for me... one thing." He looked to the sky. "Keep your heads up. Remember who you are representing.... Remember the men who have died on this mission... Remember... who you are. Keep your heads up."  
  
There was silence.  
  
"Sir, yes, sir!" Douglas cried. The rest of the men followed his lead.  
  
The Captain gave a weak, fake smile. "Be ready. We're leaving soon. Dismissed."  
  
The men departed with no word to each other. I quickly got back to work before he entered in once more.  
  
When he did, he muttered, "I hope they'll let me retire early," and flopped down on the bed.  
  
* * *  
  
We moved onto the main road. We had only two horses – one which the Captain was riding and the other pulling the large wagon of supplies – so travel was slow. Most of the supplies were in the wagon, but mostly everyone had something to carry.  
  
The sun was almost at its peak, raying the heat of the summer day down on our backs. None of us really minded it though; it had been so cold last night.  
  
I looked up at Douglas, who I was walking with and who had been playing around with his wooden spoon the entire trip. The men around us would sometimes try to start up a conversation with one another, but it would die quickly. We were still reflecting on what the Captain had spoken earlier in the morning.  
  
I sat my sights on a soldier who was riding on the back on the wagon. Even though the sun was raying down directly on him, he was shivering. "S-S- S-S-S-Soo c-c-cold..." He muttered.  
  
"Hey, Peterson," One of the members of the squad said, "you OK over there?"  
  
He didn't seem to notice the question asked to him and continued talking to himself.  
  
"Peterson?"  
  
No response.  
  
The Captain looked back to see what was the problem. "Peterson. Speak up."  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Peterson!"  
  
Peterson screamed and rolled off the cart. He pulled out his knife that was hanging off his belt. "DIE BATS!!!!! DIE!!" He slashed the air around him rapidly.  
  
"GET HIM SOME WATER!" Captain yelled. "I WILL NOT LET IT CLAIM ANOTHER LIFE!"  
  
The movement of the caravan stopped and the men began to search everything high and lower for a least a drop of water.  
  
Peterson fell to the ground and stopped moving completely. Everyone ended their movement and looked to see what would happen.  
  
He slowly turned his head towards me and Douglas. When he opened his eyes they were bloodshot red. His eyes connected to mine. Then he hissed, "Kitsune...." He pulled himself up. "You can run, but you cannot hide... YOU BELONG TO SHIKYO!" He launched himself at me with the knife in hand.  
  
A bullet drove through the side of this head. Another went to his shoulder and one underneath the arm. HE hit the ground and laid in his own thick, bright red blood. His eyes rested open and his face expression looked "sick".  
  
He looked just like Eggman did.  
  
The men stared down at their former teammate and then to their captain.  
  
Captain Little held his rifle pointing to Peterson and his eye was still looking through the gun scope. His gun smoked from the shots fired.  
  
Peterson twitched.  
  
He shot him again.  
  
The Captain was breathing heavily now, but stayed calm. "Make... make sure he's dead... someone."  
  
The soldier to my left took the job and cautiously made his way over to the insane man and leaned down to feel his pulse. "There's.... no pulse, sir. He's dead."  
  
The Captain moaned and lowered his weapon. The only sound was his hard panting. Finally he muttered, "Douglas... bring the boy to me. Bring Miles to me."  
  
Douglas gulped but then said, "Yessir." He took me by the arm and led me over to him. I noticed that every eye was staring at me. I began to panic. Would he kill me? After all, the Peterson guy did come after me. When we got to his horse, the Captain motioned Douglas off.  
  
Douglas moved out of the way and I stood before the Captain. He pulled me up and sat me in front of him on the horse, tapped the horse's sides with his heels, and the horse began to move. "Come on. Bring Peterson with us. I know where to bury him."  
  
* * *  
  
The small funeral we had for Peterson on a hill in the grasslands delayed us an hour, but none of us cared. As we moved on, there was silence. I looked at the Captain behind me. All he did was rub my hair and then continued to look ahead.  
  
I looked where he was and in my mind said, 'Damn you,' to the voice.  
  
And all it did was laugh.  
  
How'd you like it? I got in trouble for writing this at school... teacher saw the part where Captain Little shot Peterson. Wasn't a good part for him to read. But I got off the hook saying my friend wrote it. Stupid teacher. Oh well. Review please. Oh, and Piranha27, stop using such big words.... I gotta look all of 'em up. 


	5. Chapter 5

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 5  
  
Tails' POV  
  
The scorching sun was now at its climax. The long, long plains of the grassland only grew longer as we went. Most of the men had taken cover in the wagon, which slowed the horse down. I was still on the horse with Captain Little and dared not ask if I could join them to get out of the sun's rays. The trip was longer than expected.  
  
There had been no noises except for the steps of the horses and men and the rickety sound of the wagon wheels rolling across the dirt path. The last time someone talked was at the funeral and they were giving their last regards to Peterson. That was hours ago.  
  
The Captain halted his horse and instructed the soldier directing the wagon to stop it. Once he had, the Captain said, "Get out of the wagon." I looked before us to find we were at a medium sized hill.  
  
The soldiers loaded out of the wagon and a deeper frown went across their faces when they saw the hill before them.  
  
"This," the Captain said, "will be the hardest part of this 'mission'... just remember what I said. Keep your heads high." He hit the horse he and I were mounted on to start it walking again and the horse did exactly as told. No one returned to inside the wagon except for the man told to drive it. Once we had reached the height of the hill, below it was a sight to behold.  
  
The kingdom of Hatsu was huge! The cabins of its inhabitants surrounded the large castle in the middle and stretched beyond what the eye could see. A large stone wall enclosed it as a guarding force. A gate made of gold welcomed visitors to the inside of the walls. "Wow," I muttered, finally deciding to speak.  
  
The Captain didn't respond.  
  
We began our journey to the front entrance. The guards standing watch at the gate began to cheer, but it died quickly when they saw we were the only ones coming...  
  
One of the guards approached us and said, "Sir, the others are... over the hill, right? The rest are there, right?"  
  
"We're the only ones returning," Captain Little told them.  
  
The guards stared in horror.  
  
"How many are..."  
  
"190," he answered. "It was 189 until some odd hours ago."  
  
The guards looked to each other. One of them stepped forward. He had a nicer uniform on, probably a Captain. He took place of the one that came up before, "The King.... He has a parade scheduled for the return of almost ALL of his men."  
  
"Well, it just didn't work out that way..."  
  
"We'll," the Guard Captain stuttered, "will lead you inside."  
  
Captain Little nodded.  
  
We entered in the main road and the people of the kingdom roared. Streamers were let off, the sounds of laugher and cheer rolled through the air, music began to play, and some began to sing.  
  
The people close to the entrance were the first to notice it was only us. Most of them stopped cheering. Some stared; some began to mutter to each other. I saw a little boy pull on his mom's skirt and say, "Mommy, I don't see Daddy.... Where's Daddy?" The mom only patted him on the head and continued to look towards the gates hoping for her husband's return.  
  
The further we went down the road, the quieter it got. Most looked out to the gate to see if the rest were coming after us, some continued cheering because they thought the troops were just waiting outside, and some.... some – who got a chance to stare into the Captain's eyes - immediately got the point. The Captain was not happy, not smiling. His expression was hard as he continued to stare straight ahead.  
  
Captain Little stopped his horse by were the orchestra was playing. He hopped off the horse and walked up to where the orchestra master had a Mic. He gently took it from him and looked out to all the people. "I would..." he began, but then stopped. He looked down to the troop he had brought home and then continued. "I would stop looking to the gates... no one's coming. No one."  
  
The band master's face fell into shock like the rest of the people around us. The streamers stopped, the sounds of laughter and cheer halted, the music died, and the singing was cut off immediately. The Captain said no more. He just handed the Mic to the master and walked off the stage.  
  
He hopped back behind me on the horse and we continued down the way, but this time no one was cheering. The only thing that could be heard was mourning. I looked down to the neck of the horse and closed my eyes so I would not have to see the pain all around me.  
  
^Isn't it... AMUSING?^ The voice asked me.  
  
I growled, 'You're sick.'  
  
It snickered. ^I should have expected that reply.^  
  
I didn't say anything to it in return.  
  
^Why do you fall so silent? Why do you close your eyes? Does all this pain SADDEN you?^  
  
I still didn't answer her.  
  
^It does. It hurts you. Open your eyes, Miles, take a look around.^  
  
My eyes fluttered open again their will. I looked around the crowds. Most were crying, some in total shock... little kids looked around confused, some were still looking towards the gates hoping their parents would come with open arms.  
  
^Their all sad now. But what if they figure out YOU, my dear Miles, are the cause of Peterson's death No, what if they figure out YOU are the cause of ALL of the deaths?!^  
  
'NO,' I told it, 'that's not true!'  
  
^Oh, but it is, kitsune. You and their damn Queen are the reasons for this land's suffering. And think, they're taking you in under their wing without even knowing. What would happen if I brought the Queen back and asked for you in return? You would be MINE in an instant!^  
  
My breathing got heavy. Finally I muttered, "I would never surrender to you."  
  
"What?" Captain Little asked.  
  
I looked up to him and decided not to answer. I had just realized that I might not be able to trust him – or Hatsu – with anything.  
  
He put his hand on my head. "Don't worry... I won't let anything happen to you."  
  
He halted the horse in front of the large castle in the center of the kingdom. He hopped of the horse and helped me down also. A guard who was standing post at the front entrance came over to the Captain with a wan expression on his face. He whispered something in Captain Little's ear. The Captain nodded.  
  
He turned to his half troop and said, "The King and I would like you all to get some rest. If I need you I will call."  
  
The soldiers nodded and departed in silence.  
  
"Douglas," The Captain called.  
  
Douglas whipped around.  
  
"I need you with me."  
  
Douglas nodded, "Sir."  
  
Then the Captain looked down to me and held out his hand, "Come on."  
  
I panicked. "Why – Why do I gotta go?! What'd I do?!"  
  
"Nothing, nothing," he said trying to calm me down. "I need to see if the government will pay for your plan ticket back to Knothole. It's OK, take a deep breath."  
  
I did and it helped. I took his hand – and Douglas' are well – and we started up the stairs and into the front doors. We entered in the grand hall of the castle.  
  
As we walked down what seemed to be a boundless walk way, I looked around in awe. Pictures filled the cherry oak walls and the bright red carpet lined the floor. I looked up at a balcony that was visible from here to see an unexpected sight.  
  
Standing there on the porch overlooking the hallway was that girl kitsune – the kitsune from my dream! The same flowers from before were placed in her hair, but she wore all sorts of earrings and bracelets. And instead of a kimono she was in a long, blue, sparkly gown. Two guards stood by her side. She was staring down at us smiling. Did she know the news about the troops yet? She gave me a little wave. Then she said something to her guardians and she walked away from the side of the balcony.  
  
I looked to Douglas, who was staring up there at her too. "Who's that?"  
  
"Oh, that's the Princess. Beautiful young lady I must say."  
  
"Yeah," I muttered more to myself than to him.  
  
We finally arrived at the end of the master hallway and two guards opened the throne room doors for us. We entered.  
  
At the other end of the room was a kitsune in his middle 30's sitting on this golden throne. He wore a crown with jewels implanted in the gold and he held a golden rod in his hand. The throne beside him was empty though. On the floor to his left only about six inches from his seat was a large pillow – the Princess probably sat on that.  
  
The King stood up, his face turning pale when he saw us come in. "Is this true?"  
  
The Captain nodded solemnly. "Yes, your majesty."  
  
The King fell back into is seat once more and buried his face into his hands. "Oh, I don't know what to do anymore..." After a moment he gathered up all of is courage and said, "Tell me everything."  
  
And the Captain did. Everything from the first death to the massacre to finding me and to Peterson's death. He told how the men would suddenly go insane and kill themselves or would start murdering the others. He told about the burning of the tents and the shadow chameleons that claimed a few lives. He also mentioned a lot of men that did go insane said something about Shikyo and there was no mistake her evil ways were behind this.  
  
But there was one thing he didn't tell. He didn't tell about who Peterson had gone for when he went insane.  
  
The King nodded ever so slowly, his face was whiter than before. Then he looked to me straight in the eye. "What's your name, boy?"  
  
"Miles 'Tails' Prower, sir." I answered shakily.  
  
"Prower... was your father a general?"  
  
"Yessir."  
  
"Yes, yes, your father was a good man. I was told he was killed in the Robotnik attack on the Mystic Ruins some years ago."  
  
I nodded and tried to keep a straight face all at once, "Yessir."  
  
"Sorry to hear that." He said, then asking, "You are from Knothole?"  
  
"Yessir."  
  
"Who do you live with?"  
  
"I work and live with Sonic the Hedgehog, sir," I said proudly. It was always an honor to work with him so whenever I got to say I did, I said it conceitedly.  
  
He nodded slowly and muttered something to himself. Finally he said, "You do know that... all of the Sonic Team is missing, yes?"  
  
I was shocked. The voice told me she had them, but I didn't believe it. Sonic... captured? How?  
  
^I never lie,^ the voice said.  
  
'Shut up,' I snapped back.  
  
^Kitsune, kitsune, the cursed few, more interesting than Sonikku. I will be with you always! I can think for EVERYONE!^ It snickered.  
  
When I made eye contact with the King of Hatsu once more, he had a worried expression on his face, "Are you all right, Mr. Prower? You look sick."  
  
I noticed my head was burning up again. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm f-fine, s- s-sir." I answered. I had lost my ability to talk straight.  
  
I felt a cold hand touch my forehead and I almost screamed from the sudden change of temperature. My eyes blacked out on me. I could no longer see.  
  
"You're burning up!" I heard the Captain say. "We need some towels!! Hurry, dammit!"  
  
A couple of seconds later I heard Douglas say, "Hand in there! Tails? TAILS!"  
  
I blacked out.  
  
~ V ~ I ~ S ~ I ~ O ~ N ~  
  
My eyes opened to reveal a forest scene in front of me. The forest was peaceful and the songs of birds and children's laughter flew through the quiet atmosphere. In the middle of the small cleared space I was in was a large boulder.  
  
Out of the thickest of the trees came a voice that screamed, "Hey, wait up!!!" The voice was familiar from somewhere, but had a different ring to it. I couldn't tell where I had heard it from.  
  
A boy kitsune came out of the woods walking slowly looking over his shoulder. He sat down on the boulder and waited.  
  
He... he looked exactly like me. In every single way. Same eyes, same fur... two tails... Was it me? No, he had a different present to him. Then I noticed he had no shoes or gloves on his hands or feet. Except for that, he could be mistaken for me easily.  
  
Out of the forest rushed a pink hedgehog in a reddish-orange kimono. The first thing I thought was Amy Rose, but then I saw two fox tails trailing her.  
  
Was that... the thing chasing us in my last dream?  
  
The girl smiled and jumped on the rock with the kitsune. She leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "Please play a song!"  
  
He looked to her and sighed, "Fine, fine. What do you want to hear?"  
  
She thought for a moment and answered, "I want you to play 'Nightingale'!"  
  
He nodded and pulled out a small ocarina and began to play a song – which I was guessing would be called Nightingale – on it. The notes of the song rung to the forest and the only thing that could be heard from then on was the music. Each note hit the air like rain drops.  
  
Suddenly in my ear, I heard the voice, ^What a lovely song, isn't it?^  
  
I suddenly was jerked back to reality.  
  
~ R ~ E ~ A ~ L ~ I ~ T ~ Y ~  
  
I woke up to find the kitsune girl leaning over me. I had to ask, "Are you real?"  
  
She giggled. "Yes. And welcome, Tails. I have been waiting for you."  
  
Finally the fifth chapter is up. Please review. Thank you! 


	6. Chapter 6

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 6

Tails' POV

I sat up and looked at the Princess straight in the eye. My hands sunk into a soft object below me and I realized I was on a bed. I wanted to see the room, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the Princess.

She felt my head and sat a wet washcloth on it. "You're fever has gone down, but you still have one. Lay down." She pushed me back to the position of lying down.

"Who are you?" I asked demanding some answers.

She released the washcloth from my head and I sat up again despite her the glare in her eyes that told me to go back down. She stood up and bowed, "My name is Princess Joruri Nisou Kougou of the realm of Hatsu." She stood up from her bow and then said, "And I welcome you with great joy, even though you are here a bit earlier than I expected."

"You've… been expecting me?"

She nodded. "Yes, I have been for quite awhile now."

The door suddenly opened behind her and two guards came in. "Your majesty, you are wanted by the King."

She nodded again. "All right." She looked to me. "Get some sleep. You're fever should be gone soon. I'll be back." She walked out of the room followed by the two guards. They shut the door.

I didn't take my eyes off the door. I didn't want to and didn't need to. I was wide wake, my head was burning and I was twitching like a nervous wreck. I could hear the voice chuckling in my head. I tried to shake it off.

Suddenly a mysterious force pushed me down onto the bed and did not release its weight. I wanted to scream, but my lungs were twisted. I couldn't breathe. I tried to kick or push myself up with my two tails, but was unable to succeed. There was a large explosion of pain in my head and then all feeling over my body left. I could no longer feel the bed beneath me.

Don't struggle, the voice told me, it won't help you.

I tried anyway.

It cooed, Silly little boy… no one can escape from Me. I felt something press against my lips and my eyes widened and stayed that way. Was she taking me over? Have I failed? I could feel myself falling away, falling into the shadows. And sadly, there was nothing I could do about it.

My eyes started to close, and I let them. I didn't care anymore. I didn't know why. But I didn't. I now felt like I had no care in the world. I might be smiling. Who knows? But who cares?

"TAILS!"

The weight was immediately let off of me and the pain and feelings returned. I sat up and started coughing. I looked down to reveal blood. I coughed again and more blood fell. I sighed and glance barely over to the figure next to me.

It was Captain.

"Here," he told me, handing me a cloth, "get cleaned up. Are you all right?"

I barely nodded and I began to wipe the blood up with the pure white cloth, "I guess I can say so." My eyes met to his. I could tell that he knew I was lying.

He didn't say anything about it though. He sat down on the bed beside me, "The King said if you were feeling well he would like you to join him for dinner, but if your not you should get some sleep. He says his daughter has an interest in you."

"Oh, that Princess Joruri…." I muttered. "You know anything about her?"

He nodded, "Sure. What do you wanna know?"

"Anything and everything."

"Well, all right. She's 12 years old and is in training to become a priestess. She is the only child of the King and is the heir to his throne. A nice girl, I must add. But she is a bit strange. She says she… 'sees' things."

"It's possible," I told him, remembering my encounters with many people that have had the power since their younger years. "Never doubt anyone about it unless you can tell their lying."

He continued, "That's all I really know. She likes flowers…." He thought for a moment. "Oh, she's a good singer. Writes her own music. Lullabies to musicals."

I nodded, "Yeah, I know."

He blinked and decided almost instantly not to ask.

"So… are you feeling well enough to come to dinner?"

I thought for a minute. Sure, I was in major pain, but at the same time if I don't go It might come back and…. That wouldn't be good. I nodded, "I'll try."

"Good, good!" He stood up and helped me to my feet. "Come along."

I followed him out of the room.

I tried to eat as slowly as possible, which was still pretty fast. I have never tasted better food in my life. No one talked at the long table. The only sounds heard were the accidental hit of the fork against the plate or the scooting of the large fancy chairs. The men from the Troop were there – Captain Little and Douglas included, the Princess, the King, and me.

I glanced over to Joruri. She had barely eaten anything. She was staring at me in a way that I would only notice. Her head suddenly jerked back and she looked to the door.

A butler walked into the room with a letter. He bowed to the King, "Milord, you have a letter from TNMIH."

"The TNMIH!" The King asked. He told the letter and opened it. "What would they want?" He scanned over the letter and his eyes became wide.

"What's it say," Joruri asked.

"It says it wants me to go to the National Mental Institute of Hatsu… they found some live victims of Shikyo." He stood up from the table. "I must see this for myself!"

Joruri graceful stood up also, "I shall go."

He looked to her, "Now, dear, a mental institute is no where for a young lady like yourself to go."

"I agree," Captain Little muttered.

The Princess seemed to not care, "I am going with you and that is that." She pointed to me, "Young Master Tails is coming also."

I blinked. "Uh… excuse me?"

She only smiled at me.

"Fine, fine," The King mumbled. "You two can come. Captain?"

"Sure."

The King looked to the butler, "Make sure the rest of the men enjoy their meal. After that they can either stay here in one of the guest beds or go home."

The butler bowed.

The King began to head out of the room. "Come along."

I gulped, but followed him, Joruri, and the Captain.

That's my shortest chapter by far….. But anyway, sorry it came out so late. I was grounded. Which, yes, sucked for me… ummmmmmm……. I don't know when the next chapter is going to be out, so be patient. Review.


	7. Chapter 7

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 7

Tail's POV

The institute looked like a jail. It was made of those simple bricks that make the place have a prison type feeling and bars lined each of the windows above. A barbwire fence housed the building inside. If I wouldn't have known where we were going, I would have thought this place was abandoned years ago or I was going to be put to death.

They located the house for the mental on a hill overlooking the great kingdom of Hatsu so the "normal" people would not have to pass it each waking day.

Guards saluted us and opened the only gate to the inside area of the mental establishment. When I saw what awaited me, I felt even more disgusted about the place. There was no grass. There were no trees. Only gray mud…

'No wonder these people are nuts,' I told myself, 'this place makes me wanna go nuts too!'

No, the voice answered, you want to go mad because of ME!

I gulped and set my sights on the front iron doors that led into the place so I could get my mind off the voice. I caught the Princess at the corner of my eye. She was looking at me with a concerned expression. Did she know?

The iron doors were opened for us and the disgusted and terrified King was greeted in by the head doctor this hell hole.

"Welcome, my liege," the doctor bowed. "Sorry to have to call you like this so suddenly. But what we have here might help us on our search for the Queen."

The King nodded, "How many live ones did you find?"

"Most of the camp was already dead." The doctor told us as he started to lead us down the cold, merciless hall. "We found three, but sadly one died on your way over here."

"Died?" The King asked. "How?"

"Probably killed himself," the Captain answered.

The doctor nodded, "Exactly."

"Do you know any of their names?" The Princess suddenly asked him.

The doctor just now noticed her, "Uh, yes. One is named Kage and the other one seems to have forgotten his."

Joruri smiled. "Very good."

The man stopped us at a door with many locks on it. He began to unlock them all, "Now, he is definitely the worst of the two. I don't know if he'll give us any information or not."

"Let us in," the Captain ordered.

"As you wish."

He opened the door to reveal a small room separated into two pieces by a large window. On our side of the room was simply a couple of chairs. The other side held a bed, a desk, and a three legged chair. In the corner behind the desk was a small shadow which was hugging itself.

Joruri and I were about to enter with the King and Captain Little, but he stopped us and said, "I don't want you two in here." He closed the door, but we opened a small crack so we could see inside.

"Finally I see this for myself," Joruri muttered.

"It isn't that pleasant," I warned her.

She nodded solemnly, "I know."

Inside the room the doctor softly tapped the glass to get the shadow's attention. "Come out. I want to have a word with you."

There was silence.

"It's all right, we won't hurt you."

There was no answer.

The King sighed, but the Captain was still expecting something.

Suddenly a cup hit the window and cracked it. The cup dropped to the ground and shattered everywhere. A white rabbit slowly showed itself from the shadows. It was bleeding everywhere and each step it took left a trail of blood. Scratches that looked like it was caused from itself covered its body. Its eyes were bloodshot and had a mad, insane kind of look to them. It was twitching and laughing coldly under its breath.

The King stepped back in shock.

I felt wan. He looked worse than Peterson and Eggman…. The Princess nearly coughed on her own air. She must have not thought it was that bad.

"What have you done to yourself?" The doctor asked the bleeding rabbit sternly.

"I," the rabbit quivered madly, "am simply setting an example…"

"An example?" The King asked. "An example for what?"

The rabbit reached down and picked up a shattered piece of glass with his bare hand. He began to examine it carefully. "You all…. Are like shattered glass." He stuck the glass through his hand. "You all are covered with blood, all a disgrace to the world. Master Shikyo shall change this though."

The white bunny started laughing manically as he picked up each and every piece of glass, "Master can think for YOU! Master can think for EVERYONE!" He chucked the glass pieces at us, but kept a large piece in his hand. "… Master shall get rid of you all… KILL! KILL!" He threw his head up and his laugh filled our ears and the hall behind us.

No one could speak. They just stared in horror.

"No one! NO ONE can stop Master! YOU WILL ALL DIE! AHAHA! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" He sunk to the ground snickering. "Master Shikyo can think for everyone!"

The King moved back behind the Captain for protection even though there was no way the bunny could have gotten through the glass.

"Take this to heart!" The rabbit cried. "It is DARKEST BEFORE DAWN!" He stuck the large glass piece into his stomach and fell over dead with a mad expression on his face.

Joruri shrieked and covered her mouth in total shock.

"I guess another has died at the wrath of Shikyo," Captain sighed.

"How many is that now?" The doctor asked.

Captain Little thought for a moment and then answered, "308. 308 have died not counting our Queen."

The King hung his head. "… Let's… go see the other one."

The doctor nodded, "Yes. I want you to meet Kage."

He led us out into the hallway and down it, but this time we were all in silence.

"Here's Kage's room," The doctor informed us. He grabbed the door handle and slowly gave it a twist. He opened the door and welcomed us into the room. We all went in this time.

The first thing I noticed was there was no glass.

"There's nothing to protect us?" The King asked.

"No."

"But I don't want to walk among the mad people!" The King protested.

Suddenly a figure came out of the abyss of the room. "Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here."

It was the black kitsune from my dream.

…. Hi there! Please don't mind the bunny. He'll have a… um… nice funeral. Anyway, thanks for being patient. Please review. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 8

Tails' POV

The doctor flipped on the light and the shadows around were instantly quenched by it. It was a small room, but much more suitable and much more well-kept than the rabbit's little hellhole. But I was barely paying any attention to the room itself, I was more interested with the black kitsune who occupied it.

He was a teenager, a small teenager to be exact. He had no gloves on his hands and large hiking boots on his feet. After he had said his small comment to the King and before the doctor had turned on the light, he had put himself on the bed. He was bruised up, sure, but no bleeding nor were the scratches from his own claws. He had no mad look in his eye even though the red spheres were interesting to look at and did send somewhat of a chill up your spine. He wasn't twitching, wasn't laughing, but instead took a sip of tea from a white teacup. He seemed more than civilized… he was the exact opposite of the rabbit or Peterson. But I can't say he was normal. Just looking at him told me that he was different in some shape or form.

"What do you want anyway?" the kitsune asked. I realized he had a British accent hanging on his voice. He gave the doctor a piecing glare, "Can't you leave anyone alone for at least 5 minutes?"

The doctor ignored him and directed his view towards us, "You have visitors, Kage."

"I can see that," Kage muttered back. He took a good look at each of us with his weird looking eyes, like he was reading a simple children's book. It seemed as though he was staring right through us, like he was seeing our souls… Finally he said, "Well, welcome! Never thought I'd have a King and a Princess come see a lowlife such as me." He stood up and bowed.

The King looked to the doctor, "There is no way this fox is insane."

"Like I said," Kage quickly snapped, "everyone is mad…" He sat down once more on the bed and took a sip of his tea.

"He killed 5 of my men when we went to the village," the doctor told us. "He was insane like the rest of them… but he came out of it right when he got here."

"Is that possible?" the Captain asked.

Kage ignored their entire conversation and set his sights on me. After a long pause he said, "So… you're the little runt…"

I blinked.

He turned his head to the door and stared at it for awhile. Then he snapped his fingers to try to grab the grown-ups attention. "Hey, doc…"

The doctor looked over to the black patient. "We're having a very important discussion, Kage, what is it?"

Kage smirked. "One of your patients is out."

A boom suddenly came from down the hall. An alarm sounded immediately after that. The doctor whipped his head around to see the door, and then looked back to Kage for at least an explanation.

Kage only sipped his tea.

The doctor sprinted out the door. The Captain followed. As the King – who was actually supposed to say in the room by Captain's orders – was leaving after them, he turned to us and said, "You two stay here!"

"With a ---!" I stuttered.

But the King had already left.

"With a what?" Kage asked. His accent was gone. "A mad man?"

I kept quiet.

He just gave out a small chuckle and set down his teacup on a small plate on the nightstand ajared to his bed. He looked up to the ceiling as though he was looking for something. He said, "Kid, I'd move from the door."

I looked at Joruri for an answer. She shrugged.

Kage continued looking at the sky and said, "Get away from the fuckin door!" Suddenly he snatched his teacup off the plate and chucked it at the ceiling. "That patient is coming for you!" The ceiling rumbled a bit and a small box fell from it.

I quickly moved myself and Joruri away from the door and to the window on the other side of the room.

"That box," Joruri whispered.

"The box?" I asked. "What about it?"

Kage lightly tossed the small black cube up in the air and when it was about to fall back down he made it defy gravity and float. It suddenly began to transform.

Once it was done, it was a large sickle. It had a 5 ft black handle and at the base of the top of the handle and the actual blade – which was like a yard or so – was odd looking cream feathers.

"I should have known…." Joruri told herself.

I looked to her for an answer.

"I know why he was able to defy Shikyo… He is a spiritualist."

Kage struck the bottom of the sickle to the ground to make a large clashing noise. He stared at the door contently; waiting… the grip became harder on his weapon at each moment. Finally he jumped towards the door.

The door flew open and his blade met a seal's shoulder. The seal yelped and moved back. The mark inflicted by Kage did not show, the seal was already bleeding everywhere from biting and scratching itself too much.

"Out of the way, spiritualist," the seal muttered crackly, "this doesn't not involve your kind."

"Oh really?" Kage asked, "My kind? So spiritualist is a 'kind' now? Interesting." He picked a feather off of his staff. He tossed it to the seal and the insane patient caught it. The seal stared down at it and then started to laugh manically. Kage slammed the door on him.

There was an explosion. The door was knocked over and blood splattered all over Kage and his already soaked blade. The seal was no longer standing there at the front door. Kage glanced back and smirked. He turned to his blade and examined it closely. After close inspection, he licked a steam of blood trailing off of it. "… That's not live seal blood…" he turned back slowly. "… That seal was already dead."

He turned to us. "The window! NOW!"

I scurried towards the window and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

The voice laughed.

I heard a painful sound come from Kage. He held his head as I heard the laughing in my head. Was he hearing her laugh to?

"Kage!"

I looked back to Kage afraid that the doctor saw he was a spiritualist, not even British, and Shikyo starting to take him over. But Kage no longer had his blade nor holding his head and when he said "Hey, doc" he had a British accent added to his voice once more.

"What happened here?"

Kage shrugged. "How would I know? I'm 'mad'."

The King took Joruri's hand. "Come on, we're leaving."

"But," Joruri said, "I need to speak to Kage."

"I don't think so," Kage responded. He sat down back on his bed and I noticed his teacup was no long shattered, but instead totally back intact and filled. He took it and continued his teatime as though nothing had happened.

I was taken out of the room. But as the door closed, I heard a voice in my head, and it was not the voice that was usually taunting me. It said, 'I'll meet you again, runt.'

It was Kage.

Tada! Kage is now in it. I'm happy. Very. He's my favorite character now in this. (Smile) Haha, suckers. I'm going to be in Turks and Cacaos all this week for Spring Break! It's some islands in the Caribbean Sea. Haha, sunshine for me! But don't worry, I shall continue on! It's something called my dad's lap top! Haha! I win. Right? Review please! Thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 9  
  
Tails' POV  
  
That night I did not sleep. I didn't try to lie down and almost wasn't even going to even sit. I was invited to stay at the palace until Sonic and the others were found and I vaguely accepted after much thinking. I wouldn't have stayed if I couldn't have figured out anything about Shikyo here, and I wanted to learn more about this Kage character.  
  
I was sitting in the large dinning room alone. I had promised Joruri I would stay in my room and try to get at least some sleep, but I knew that would not be anytime soon. I took a sip of my fifth coffee. It was the only thing keeping me from drowsing off. I had sunk this low... I hated coffee, but yet I was now addicted to drinking it during the night.  
  
I glanced up to the clock. It was 3 A.M. It had been 5 hours since everyone – and I mean everyone – in the castle had fallen asleep. I didn't because I had a theory about Shikyo. She might take you over in your sleep. So I wanted to stay awake as long as possible.  
  
^Why do you think I would want to kill you, my dear Miles?^  
  
I jumped almost out of my chair. I had thought it had left me for the night since it had not taunted me earlier. I was going to remain silent, but decided I might as well answer its question, 'Look what you've done to the others! They're either dead because they killed themselves from insanity or someone having to do them in!'  
  
The voice, of course, laughed. ^Oh, but those are the others... you're different.^  
  
'Different?'  
  
^Yes, kitsune. Your mind is so easy to confuse. If I wanted you dead then I would have done away with you along time ago.^  
  
I was afraid to ask, but did, 'What... do you want from me?'  
  
There was silence, something the voice rarely ever gave me...  
  
^I want YOU, Miles!! I want your body, mind, and soul! I want everything! Everything you have to offer, my love.^  
  
I dropped my coffee mug and heard it clatter to the floor below. I didn't know what to say. Actually, I didn't want to say anything. It... wanted me completely? I slowly moved to pinch myself, but my arm stopped. Shikyo was trying to take me over again.  
  
I felt my mind tell me to give in while my heart screamed to fight back. I didn't know which one to trust anymore. They both got me into all this trouble. But soon both of them left me, I could no longer here them. I sighed. There was no way I was getting out of this now. This was it...  
  
"Meep!!"  
  
Everything broke. When I got my feeling back though, it was different than usual. This time I felt like scratches covered my body just like they did with the rabbit and the seal. But when I looked around there was nothing. I coughed onto the plate I was keeping my mug on. I realized I was coughing up blood.  
  
"Meep, meep!"  
  
I slowly turned around to the thing that was making the annoying sound. I blinked when I found it. A Chao. He was a dark purple-blackish color with big blue eyes He was flying happily on his little bat wings while screaming 'meep' all around.  
  
"Shhh," I told him. "You'll wake everyone up!" I then winced from the pain coming from my body. Speaking made it worse.  
  
The Chao noticed me and lowered itself beside me on the table. He gave a gracious 3 second bow. He looked over at the plate and snapped his tiny fingers. The blood was off of the white surface. He smiled up at me.  
  
"What's your name?" I asked him.  
  
"Meep!" He answered.  
  
"No. Really."  
  
"Meep!"  
  
I sighed. "Ok then."  
  
The door to the dinning room opened and Princess Joruri walked into the room. I noticed she seemed angry about something, probably she found me not in my room. Once she saw me and the small Chao I shall call Meep, her face lighten a little – but just a little. "What are you doing out of your room?"  
  
I stuttered, "I-I wanted some coffee."  
  
She sighed. "Oh. Coffee." She glanced at Meep. "Who's this?"  
  
"Oh... uh, Meep." I answered. "I... just kind of found him running around here."  
  
"Running around here?"  
  
"Meep!" He cried.  
  
"Oh yes, meep indeed," she muttered. She looked then to me, "Come to bed. It's 3 A.M. You need rest. Your eyes look awful."  
  
I blinked and winced in pain. It hurt to close them. "Sorry. I just had my fifth coffee. I will never be able to sleep. I'll meet you in the morning." Then I shooed her away not exactly realizing what offence I was doing to the Princess.  
  
But she said, "Fine. In the morning." And she walked out.  
  
"Meep, meep..." Meep muttered.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
But he only continued to stare at the door.  
  
Hi there again! I'm happy and I don't know why. Maybe its because I like Meep. Oh well, anyway, review please! Thanks. 


	10. Chapter 10

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 10

Tails' POV

I stared out the enormous glass window that hung at the side of the castle. It was letting in the brilliant sun shine into the stone walls of the palace to show that it was morning. I sighed in relief. Morning had come.

"Meep!" Meep cried as he started to slap me on the head with two wooden spoons he found in the kitchen.

"Meep, stop it!" I yelled at him as I rubbed my aching head. I whipped around and tried to grab the spoons out of his hands, but he quickly fluttered up higher into the air to where I could not grab him. "Meep! Come back here!" I took off on my two tails and began to chase him around the hall. "MEEP!"

"Meep, meep! Meep!" Meep shouted as he taunted me across the walkway. He laughed at me while pointing with one of the spoons. I tried to grab him but he disappeared and appeared intact at the other end of the hall.

The door suddenly flew open and hit Meep straight into the wall. "Meep…" He muttered as he slid down the wall and hit the floor. I laughed at him and he gave me a glare, but then quickly smiled.

"Hello there," I heard a voice from the door. I looked over to find Captain Little and Douglas standing in the doorway. They were no longer in their soldier uniforms like they were yesterday, but instead in normal clothes.

Douglas was the first to spot Meep, "Hey, who's this?"

"Meep!" Meep said to introduce himself. He stood up and gave them both a bow and then flew over to me and hit me once more with the spoons.

"Ugghh!" I complained. I sighed. "His name's Meep… I think."

"Well," Douglas said, "nice to meet cha, Meep."

"Meep, meep!" Meep answered excitedly.

"What are you guys doing up so early," I asked. "It's 5:30."

"This is the normal time we get up," Douglas answered.

"Oh."

"Actually," Captain finally spoke, "I would have slept in, but I was called to the TNMIH this morning. Ends up they have more problems than the seal suddenly disappearing and the rabbit killing himself." He handed me a piece of paper, "Your little friend ran off."

I stared down at the paper. It was a sign: 'Kage: WANTED Alive!'

"Oh god," I muttered.

"They're having a full fledged investigation for him all around the place. The doctors say he might have all the answers to where the Queen is so it is vital to find him. Immediately. They don't want anything to happen to the kitsune." Captain informed me and then took a smoke from his pipe.

'Neither do I,' I told myself secretly. Kage might just be all the answers.

"The Princess wants you to join her for breakfast," Douglas spat out, changing the subject for his own weird reasons.

"Huh?" I muttered. I just now noticed Meep was staring up at Captain Little with interest after his comment on Kage missing. I was going to look back to him and ask if he knew anything, but he didn't. Meep was just a stupid little annoying thing. What would he know?

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "She wants some private meal with you or something." He slapped me on the back, "You got a Princess hooked on you!"

I moved away. "Yeah right. She probably just….."

"Just what?"

"….. Um. I dunno."

Douglas laughed at me.

"Go ahead, have some fun," The Captain told me. "You look like you need it. I'll take this Meep character off your hands for awhile. I was assigned to help find that black kitsune."

"So was I," Douglas shrugged. "Seems like you never get a day off as a soldier."

"Meep!" The Chao cried for no absolute reason.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'd love you to take Meep off my hands…"

Douglas laughed. "Great! So it's settled! Master Tails is on a date with the Princess of Hatsu!"

"Oh," I mumbled, "I just can't wait."

I slowly pushed open the large doors to the courtyard and peaked inside. It was a large lush and vast garden area filled with colorful flowers and exotic trees. It had a stone pathway leading into the garden and a bench sat in the middle of the place. There on the bench was the Princess.

She seemed to be thinking as she looked up to the sky. She closed her eyes and fell deep into thought.

I walked out into the sun and shut the door quietly behind me.

Her eyes snapped open. When she saw me, she seemed to be more at ease. "Welcome." She patted a spot at the bench next to her. "Come. Sit."

I hesitated, but then made my way over to her. I sat down carefully and tried to keep eye contact with her, but couldn't. I was staring at my shoes, which were filthy. I was in no condition to be around a princess.

"Did you regret all of your coffees?" Joruri asked.

"No," I answered quickly. "Actually I didn't. Coffee's good for you. Clears the senses. Yeah, the senses." I was about to slap myself. I felt so stupid.

"…. You know, Miles," she muttered, "you can't stay awake forever."

I looked to her confused. Of course I could. How hard could it be? I just needed to drink tons of caffeine and not lay down and I will be fine. Fine, fine, fine. I mean, who needs sleep? Then I realized something: I did. I needed sleep badly, but tried not to think about it. So I didn't answer her.

She stood up. "Come on, let's grab something to eat."

I quickly stood up after her, "Uh, Ok!"

She smiled and began to walk down the stone path towards the other side of the courtyard. I hastily followed her. When she looked back at me with her sapphire blue eyes, a chill went up my spine. And it was a good chill too, not like the other chills from before. I had to admit, she was beautiful. A girl anyone would want. She was like one of those girls you'd see in magazines, except more proper.

My thinking was cut off when I was asked, "What do you want for breakfast?"

I looked up and almost jumped out of my fur. The butler just appeared out of nowhere! "Um…" I answered. I just then realized I wasn't hungry and wouldn't be for awhile. I felt sick to my stomach, but I decided to get something anyway just to be polite. "I'll have… uh…… a bagel. Yeah, a bagel."

The butler turned to his Princess, "And what would you want, my majesty?"

"A salad and some red wine please," Joruri answered.

The butler bowed and was on his way out of the courtyard and into the kitchens.

"Red wine?" I asked as she was leading me to a table underneath a large oak tree. "You're allowed to drink?"

"I'm Princess," she told me in a matter-of-fact voice, "what can't I do?"

I thought for a moment and then answered, "Good question."

She giggled and sat gracefully into her chair. I sat down and almost fell backwards in it. I didn't realize they were rockers at first. As we waited for or food we talked about ourselves, got to know each other a bit more. But it was mostly her talking; she seemed to know everything about me. But there is one question and the talking about it that I would like to bring up:

"Did you hear about Kage?"

She glanced up from her wine (our food had already arrived) and said, "Yes."

"The whole Kingdom is looking for him. What will happen if he's found?"

"He will be put under custody and have to answer questions not only to my Father and the Cabinet, but me and you also." She took a small sip of her wine.

"Oh." I took the last bite of my bagel. Once I swallowed I said, "What if he is never found?"

"I promise he'll be found."

Down the path of the courtyard ran the butler. He stopped by our table and bowed, "Milady, the King has called. Follow me."

And we did.

We rushed out onto the small balcony that was closest to the ground and the front gates to the castle. The first thing I noticed was the amount of soldiers, mostly guards, patrolling the area. Most of them were in a large circle with their guns pointed at the figure in the middle. I found Captain Little and Douglas among the crowd.

The figure in the middle caught my eye. It was Kage. He stood there peaceful, even though he was covered in blood that was not his own. He had a small smirk on his face showing he was not afraid, but he was still not taken over by Shikyo; you could tell by the look in his eyes that he was still free from her wasteful bondage. He did not have his long and widely decorated sickle with him, but inside a samurai sword covered in the bright red blood of his enemy.

I looked over to his other arm to see what he was carrying, and I gave out a surprising gasp.

It was Amy Rose.

Hi everyone. Today's my birthday! (Cheers for me) Sorry, gotta tell everyone. Today's April 12, just to tell you. So I'm loved. But anyway, hope you liked the chapter. Please review. Thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 11  
  
Tails' POV  
  
I leaned over the banister to get a closer look. There was no doubt about it. That was definitely Amy Rose. She seemed Ok, in good shape, but she was not awake. She was just hanging there in his arm. What did he do to her?  
  
"So he's taken a hostage," Joruri muttered.  
  
I glanced up to her, but quickly returned my sight to the front gates of the castle where all the action was. A general stepped out among the group and into the circle. He clicked his fingers and his men cocked their guns. "Kage," he announced, "you are wanted alive by the Kingdom of Hatsu! Lay down your weapons and surrender!"  
  
"Wanted alive?" Kage asked sarcastically. "Well, I don't feel loved. Why can't I be wanted dead?"  
  
"This is no time for jokes, kitsune," the General snapped.  
  
The black kitsune gave him a reckless grin, "Oh why not? You Hatsu people are too serious." He chuckled, "Maybe y'all should go on vacation!"  
  
The General glared at him.  
  
Kage turned stern. Now he meant business.  
  
"Those eyes," one of the guards on the balcony muttered. "They're the eyes of a hitokiri*." I looked back to the older guard. He continued, "And not a hitokiri hired for the money by a group of thugs either. That's a real one. I didn't know there were still men like that." He sighed. "This is pointless, this mission to capture him. No number of men would be enough against him."  
  
(*hitokiri: man slayer)  
  
I looked back to Kage, my eyes wide.  
  
I noticed the glare in Kage's eyes, it was piercing. Those eyes were something that would stay with you forever. They were not like Robotnik's eyes, or Eggman's, or of the other evil men I have seen. They were also not close to the eyes of the ones that have been taken over by Shikyo. These eyes were eyes of there own, the eyes of a hitokiri.  
  
"Let's get down to business," Kage told them. "I must say that I am sorry, and I know you all so dearly want me to stay with you for awhile, but I am just here to grab something and then I'll be heading on my way." He looked up to me, "I'm just here for the runt."  
  
"Tails?" Captain Little muttered, glancing up at me.  
  
"What's he trying to pull?" Joruri muttered.  
  
"Meep!"  
  
I turned around to find Meep, who had suddenly appeared into the scene. He seemed normal, but he had this weird look in his eyes.  
  
"YOU WILL NOT BE LEAVING!" The General roared at the black kitsune. Kage seemed to not notice. The General grew more pissed at him and turned to his troops, "Drop your guns, they won't do anything! Pull out your machetes! NOW!"  
  
Kage glanced to him, "I don't know if that's such a good idea, general."  
  
The General stared at him. "GET YOUR MACHETES!" He cried to his troops again.  
  
They began to draw their machetes, except for Captain Little. Instead he began to back up while grabbing Douglas's arm. He whispered something in Douglas's ear that I will never know...  
  
Kage shrugged with his famous smirk on his face, "Whatever you want to do, general." He whipped his sword and the blood splattered to the ground. He chuckled and the guards moved backwards instead of forwards......  
  
"ATTACK!!!!!" The General cried.  
  
The black kitsune jumped into the air and the soldiers stumbled onto each other. He landed on two of the men's heads and cried, "MEEP! DO YOUR JOB!"  
  
I whipped around to find that Meep had grown claws and didn't look that cute anymore. His wings were much larger and so was he. His eyes blazed. He rushed towards me at a god-like speed and soon I found myself up in the air and I was not flying by myself.  
  
Kage jumped after us and onto the castle gates. He waved, "It was nice seeing you all! Have a nice life."  
  
And we left.  
  
* * *  
  
Meep let go of me in the forest and I stumbled to the ground. When I looked back up at him he seemed the same as he was when I met him before. He smiled, "Meep!"  
  
"Traitor." I muttered back.  
  
"It is I you should call the traitor. Meep was just doing his job."  
  
I looked over to Kage. He gave me his smirk and helped me to my feet, "Welcome, runt. You are now my new hostage."  
  
"Great...."  
  
Sorry this took so long everyone! We have had... computer problems. Yeah. Please review. Thanks! 


	12. Chapter 12

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 12  
  
Tails' POV  
  
I kept a close eye on Kage as we traveled through the forest terrain. He seemed to trust me because he was walking in front of me without ever turning around, but I could tell he was watching me. I could make a break for it, but the older kitsune in front of me was far more advanced than me in every category of physical strength. He could catch me in an instant. It wasn't worth the risk.  
  
I looked over to Meep, who was gathering sticks happily, to keep my mind on something. And to think, I thought I trusted that little fur ball! No, he just goes and hands me over to Kage. Stupid Chao.......  
  
There was a positive side to all this though: Even though Kage thought he had me, I really had him. Now he couldn't avoid my questions unless he wanted to leave me behind. This hostage situation might be a blessing in disguise. I had a feeling I was going to learn more about Shikyo with this black kitsune than I ever would in the secure doors of Hatsu Palace.  
  
I set my sights on Amy, who had not moved an inch on Kage's shoulder. Even though she laid perfectly still, her face told you that wherever she was in her dream world, it wasn't too happy. She had a disturbed expression across her face as she mumbled out things I couldn't even understand.  
  
I started to think. When was the last time I had seen Amy...? Well, the day I was sick and was sent home from school was May 13 and now it is the 23. Ten days, and only 3 were spent in Hatsu Kingdom. Was I just laying there for the other 7 days? Well, it has been at least ten days since I had seen the pink hedgehog. I slowly remembered that she was worried when the teacher took me out of the room to go to the nurse, but what we were talking about before Math class was blurry. Slowly, everything started to come back to me:  
  
~ F ~ L ~ A ~ S ~ H ~ B ~ A ~ C ~ K ~  
  
"I'm not giving you any more money," Amy protested. The narrow school hall was filled with student's passing to get to their next period class. I had pulled Amy aside to ask her if I could borrow some lunch money.  
  
"Oh, why not?" I asked her.  
  
"You never pay me back!" She answered. "What do you owe me now? 10 dollars. No, let's make that 20 for interest!"  
  
"Interest?" I muttered, "What are you? A tax collector?"  
  
"Yes. Thanks to you." She flipped her head up into the air and started to walk away while saying, "Good day, Tails." I was stupid enough to follow her.  
  
"Come on, Amy!" I pleaded. "I'll – I'll do your homework tonight."  
  
"I don't trust you," she answered.  
  
"Please, Amy!?"  
  
"NO, TAILS!"  
  
"Am---!"  
  
She slapped me, "Just die, why don't you!?" Then she hurried her way to our Math classroom.  
  
~ P ~ R ~ E ~ S ~ E ~ N ~ T ~  
  
"Smooth," Kage told me.  
  
I shot a glare at him, "Stop getting into my personal thoughts."  
  
"Oh, but its fun!" He told me. He decided to change the subject when it looked like I was going to choke him, "This pink hedgehog... what's her name?"  
  
I looked to Amy, "Amy, Amy Rose."  
  
He nodded solemnly, "All right, all right. Well, stupid Amy was out in this forest trying to defend herself from Shikyo's puppets all by herself. When I saved her – and almost killed her, I guess – she told me -."  
  
"Almost killed her?"  
  
I met Kage's glare, "I'm talking."  
  
I moved back a bit.  
  
"Anyway, before you rudely interrupted, she told me she was looking for a 'Sonic Team'. She said they disappeared at a guy named Eggman's house. The house supposively collapsed I guess and none of their bodies were ever found. Knothole's doing a big search for 'em all. I think all of them are dead though... except for you two."  
  
"Sonic can't die," I protested.  
  
He chuckled, "Oh, in the hands of Shikyo, ANYONE can die."  
  
After that no one, except for Meep who had seen none of the conversation whatsoever, talked. Kage was whistling a tone as we walked, but never said a word of the song. The more I listened to it, the more I realized something: that was the Nightingale song! It had to be a coincidence... But then I realized nothing anymore was a coincidence... I was about to ask him where he knew it from, but –  
  
^A lovely song, isn't it?^ the voice asked. ^You never answered my question the last time...^  
  
'What do you want now?' I asked, getting straight to the point.  
  
^I want what I've always wanted, Miles...^  
  
I didn't say anything. I noticed my head was beginning to hurt again and my vision was getting blurry. I shook it off.  
  
^You two can't run away....^  
  
"Come on, runt," Kage quickly interrupted, "there's a stream over here."  
  
I nodded. I remembered that he could hear Shikyo too. I wonder if he had heard her last remark... if it was to both of us.  
  
We went through some bushes to reveal a small stream running across the forest landscape. Kage sat Amy down by a tree and then began to fill his water bottle with water from the creek.  
  
"Kage..." I muttered.  
  
He looked to me, "What, runt?"  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
He sat down. "Well, if I tell you you'll have to figure out, you would just keep bothering me until I told you, right?"  
  
I nodded. "Yessir."  
  
"We're going to my village."  
  
I tilted my head in confusion, "But the doctor said that your village went under Shikyo's spell a couple days ago and now thinking about it.... you're the only survivor."  
  
He laughed. "Stupid runt. That wasn't my village."  
  
"So you were visiting?"  
  
"I was passing by. My village is in the forests of Mount Meteor."  
  
"What would you're village know about Shikyo?"  
  
He smirked, "Now that's just something you're going to have to figure out for yourself because until we make it there, that's classified information."  
  
"MEEP! MEEP, MEEP, MEEP!" Meep cried, flying right into Kage's head.  
  
Kage groaned, "What now, annoying fur-ball?"  
  
"MEEP, MEEP, MEEP, MEEP, MEEP! MEEP!" He cried terrified, pointing to the west. He went around in circles.  
  
Kage stood up slowly. "Runt, go over to the hedgehog."  
  
"Why?"  
  
He glared at me, "I told you so, that's why."  
  
I decided not to argue with him so I scurried over next to Amy Rose. Kage threw me over his kantana in its holder. "Hold on to that. You might have to use it." Then with that a small box appeared and floated in his hand. Soon it was a giant sickle.  
  
Meep looked now as though he did when Kage commanded him to grab me.  
  
And out of the forest came a white rabbit covered in its own and others blood. Then I noticed something particular about it. It had a piece of glass through its stomach.  
  
Sorry this took me so long. I've had things to do (I do have a life you know). Review please. Thanks! 


	13. Chapter 13

Darkest Before Dawn Chapter 13  
  
Tails' POV  
  
Kage sighed in relief, "Oh good, it's you. I thought it was something serious for a moment..."  
  
The rabbit grunted, "Well it is! Meep almost killed me!"  
  
Meep growled in reply.  
  
I watched in confusion. I saw that rabbit... die? Yeah, in the mental hospital. He stuck a glass shard in his stomach – which is still there by the way – and fell over and.... Died. Yes, he was dead. No life. No nothing. Just a dead insane guy... But now he's here! Something just isn't right with that... "Uh... Kage?"  
  
Kage looked to me, "Oh, sorry bout that. Runt, meet crazy guy. Crazy guy, meet runt." He made the sickle dissolve back into a black square.  
  
"Would you stop calling me that?!" The rabbit and I yelled at him in unison.  
  
The black kitsune pointed to the rabbit, "You, fine." He pointed to me. "You, I can call you whatever the hell I want."  
  
I groaned.  
  
"But anyway, runt, this is Ero, a spiritualist. He's a old friend from my hometown and when I stopped by I asked him if he'd help me get over here and back with your oh so humble runtness, and he said sure. Oh, just to tell you, the thing back at the mental house was an act..."  
  
"An act?"  
  
"Yeah," Ero answered. He took off the glass piece in two parts (one in the front one in the back) and there was no blood on his stomach. And the pieces had glue on the end. "It was fun while it lasted."  
  
I took a closer look, "So you faked your own sanity and death?"  
  
Ero nodded happily.  
  
My eyes landed on the glass piece piercing his palm. "Is that one fake too?"  
  
The rabbit looked down to it. ".... I got caught in the moment. Anyone have a bandage?"  
  
"Sure," Kage answered. He snapped his fingers. "Meep."  
  
Meep refused almost immediately.  
  
"Meep...." He said again, but this time more in a threat tone.  
  
Meep moaned and a roll of bandages appeared in his small circle like hand. Then, without any direction whatsoever, he chucked it. Ero barely caught the flying roll of bandages.  
  
"Dumb-ass," Ero muttered. Kage caught Meep just before he was going to attack the white rabbit for saying that. Ero jumped in the stream and the blood came off easily. None of it was actually his except for his hand, which seemed to be slowing down faster than normal. "Stupid doctors couldn't tell I had sheep's blood on the entire time."  
  
"If you guys weren't really insane then... what was the point of going to the hospital if you could have just napped me during the night?"  
  
"Well... uhh...." Ero answered.  
  
"Hurry with your bath," Kage told him, instantly breaking my question. "We're leaving soon. You might be an actor, but everyone else in the forest isn't." He walked over to me and picked up Amy. "You carry the sword. I don't need it."  
  
"But...." I muttered, deciding to leave my question behind. "I don't know how to use a sword."  
  
"It'll come to ya." Kage suddenly picked up a rock and nailed Ero in the head with it. "Hey, crazy guy, let's go already!" And he walked away from me.  
  
I sighed and stood up from the bottom of the tree with the sword in my hands. I looked down at the beautifully decorated symbols all over its hard case. Words in a different language lined it's sides and a blue dragon raced across it.  
  
A voice suddenly asked me, "Hey, runt, you going to sit there and marvel at my sword all day or can we get going?"  
  
I looked up to Kage. "I'm coming."  
  
"Good."  
  
And we headed off into the vast forest once more.  
  
* * *  
  
"I didn't think it was this long until the deserted town!" Ero protested.  
  
Meep actually agreed with him.  
  
"I took the long way," Kage said with a shrug.  
  
"What?! The long way?! Why?"  
  
He thought for a moment. "... the hostage harassment program. Yeah, that's it. The hostage harassment program. Haven't you heard of it?"  
  
Ero's whiskers perked up. "But I'm not a hostage and you're harassing me!"  
  
"Ok, fine. It's the hostage and crazy guy harassment program. Happy?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You are really hard to please, you know that."  
  
I kept quiet and decided not to get into their argument. It was fun enough just to watch the two of them bicker as we crossed the forest. But I didn't get why we took the long way... was it really that Kage was trying to be funny or did he have a reason?  
  
"Listen, stop yelling at me!" Kage yelled at his comrade. "We're almost there anyway..."  
  
"Well, we would have been there hours ago if we would have taken the short way!" Ero grumbled in fury.  
  
Kage did some weird trick with his hand and the bushes in front of us parted. "Well, we're here now." He led us through the bushes and straight into a deserted town.  
  
The town was small, just the right size of a forest village. The houses were nice, but I noticed lots of them had blood splattered over them. The roads were filthy. Bodies lied everywhere. All of them had their eyes open with a mad look inside of them. Some had knives in them; others looked as though they were beaten to death. Not one living soul of the townspeople lingered around this place.  
  
"They were 120 people in this town," Kage said, "and all of them dead... Runt, how many were killed from the Hatsu army?"  
  
I thought for a moment. "308..."  
  
"428 known deaths then.... in the estimate of 3 weeks..." He turned to us. "We stay here for the night. In the morning I want to start off at 6'oclock sharp and make it to the foot of the mountain at dusk. Got it?"  
  
We nodded.  
  
"Good. You guys can do whatever; I'm going to try to get some shut eye..." He turned to what I just now noticed was a tavern and walked inside with Amy and Meep.  
  
Ero and I looked at each other, not knowing what to say.  
  
"Hey, kid..." Ero finally questioned. "What's your name?"  
  
"Runt," I answered sarcastically.  
  
"No, really. Your name."  
  
"Miles Prower," I answered, extending my hand as a sign of friendship, "but you can just call me Tails... or runt."  
  
He chuckled, "Nice to meet cha, Tails," and shook my hand. He seemed so much different than the rabbit I had met before in the insane place. No twitching, no anything... he was like a regular person. I had no suspicion at all about him acting. He's a good performer. He had not just me and the Princess fooled, but some of the best doctors in the world waiting at his feet thinking he was totally whacko.  
  
His face turned from a happy one to a serious one. "Listen, about the question that you asked before..." He looked down thinking of what to say. "Follow me." And he turned and I obediently followed his lead down the red, messy roads.  
  
We turned a corner and I almost fainted from the sight. The people laying there were no longer people at all. They were sliced in little cubes, everything single piece of them. There was no way you could tell what part belonged to whom. Blood soaked the alleyway, covering everything in view. Ero closed his eyes and continued down the path, and I slowly followed. I kept my sights on him so I would not have to look at the blood I was pacing through now.  
  
I set my eyes on the brick wall. The name KAGE was written in blood across the gray barricade. Ero slowly began, and throughout the speech kept stopping to think of what to say next, "We... went to the mental house because Kage actually went nuts during the attack. The doctor said... he only killed... five people, but... I saw him kill more. He was a victim, just like everyone else in the town."  
  
He swallowed solemnly and continued on, "When we get to the spiritualist town, Descentmet, on Mount Meteor, he will 10 to 1 be shunned from the social for his weak mind. Don't be surprised... Kage didn't want you to know this, but I thought it would be safer for you and everyone else if you did know so, I never told you all right?" He looked back to me. "Just let me tell ya, kid, after what I've seen Shikyo do to people.... I respect Kage now more than ever."  
  
I nodded.  
  
On our way back, there was not a word spoke or was there a tune playing through the air. I thought of everything that happened and the people I had seen or heard of on my journey that had fallen to the hands of Shikyo... Eggman, Eggman's robots and lifeworks, the army of Hatsu, the mental seal, even I could take Ero into consideration... he played it out perfectly. None of them had been able to resist Shikyo, and yet Kage was standing clear as though nothing had happened. He had no mad look in his eye or looked as though he was going to go mad once more anytime soon. And some of the people that had fallen to the voice had been some of the strongest people in the world, like Eggman and the Queen's personal guards.  
  
There was a crash from the tavern.  
  
Out stumbled two figures. One, a small girl, slapped the kitsune looking figure. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"  
  
"Owww...." The kitsune muttered. "Do you have to hit so hurt?"  
  
We went around the corner to find Amy hitting Kage over the head with her hammer, which appeared out of no where. "KIDNAPPER! EVIL DOER!"  
  
Kage sighed as he laid on the ground taking her every blow, "Yes, I am a kidnapper, but an evil doer? Come on, don't over exaggerate the truth!"  
  
"Amy?" I asked.  
  
The pink hedgehog looked over to me.  
  
Kage smiled. "Thank god you're here, runt. Your friend has some serious anger problems."  
  
She hit him again. "Oh shut up!"  
  
Wahoo! Twists! Oh how I love them. Guess the rabbit didn't have a funeral after all. Oh well, review. Thanks. 


	14. Chapter 14

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 14

Tails' POV

I felt a bit uncomfortable while Amy was hugging me to death. She kept staying stuff like, "I missed you so much!" and I would just mutter the response she wanted to hear. Yeah, I was happy to see her, but I don't think anyone could be as happy as he sounded.

She finally let me go and I was actually allowed to breathe.

Kage, who had been staring at us in quite an annoyed tone the entire time, said, "Are we done here?"

Amy pointed to the black kitsune, "Who's he?"

"My name is Kage, your Bratness."

"Bratness! How dare --!"

"Listen, I saved your life. Be grateful." He turned his back towards us and headed back into the tavern. "I hate your generation." And slammed the door.

Amy gripped on her hammer as though she was going to kill him, "What's that idiot's problem!"

"Sorry," Ero said, "Kage is anti-social."

"I've noticed," she grunted.

"Bratness huh?" he asked. "I'm Crazy Guy."

"Runt," I mumbled in complete annoyance.

"Oh names for everything…" She shook the thought of Kage out of her mind and turned to me. "Tails, Sonic and everyone -…"

"Are gone," I answered.

She nodded.

When I looked over to see if Ero was still there listening, he was gone like the wind. I shrugged; he didn't need to hear this conversation anyway. I motioned Amy over to a bench which amazing had no blood all over it. I then noticed Amy had just found what covered the humble ground and I could see the shook in her eyes. I wanted to tell her to get used to it, but decided to let her begin. She knew more about Sonic and the others…

We sat down on the bench. "I…" she began and then stopped. She took a deep breath and then started again. "I came to Sonic's house to make sure you were Ok, and you were all gone. I got scared that maybe something was seriously wrong with you and ran to the hospital, but you weren't there. Then I heard someone say that Eggman was dead and after overcoming my amazement, I ran over to Eggman's – for I knew you guys were there…

"When I got there, everything was destroyed. Lab, brunt to ashes. Police, brutal killed. Robots that should have been dead were going nuts. The backup police finally took them down. One of the surviving policemen said something about shadow chameleons and a voice… he died in my arms. Everyone was found in the rumble… except for the Sonic Team. Only I was left.

"So, with my hammer in hand and my mind set, I headed off into the dark in hopes of finding one of you. I thought this was one of Eggman's evil schemes, but the more I saw and the more I thought, the more I realized that this had to be something else. Eggman is insane, yes, but what this 'voice' does is… out of whack. Whatever it is, it's mad. No remorse, no mercy… I was so scared that it may have done something to you, may have killed out or…"

I nodded. "I've had my share of events with that damn thing…"

Amy stared at me as though I have never used a cuss word in my life. Well, she was going to get use to it cuz Kage is a sailor.

The hedgehog stood up, "I'm going to find something to eat. Want anything?"

"No."

"Ok…" And she left me to think.

The voice appeared immediately after Amy shut the door to the tavern, That damn hedgehog has one fact right you know… it told me. There is something seriously wrong with you, Miles…

Even though it would not affect Shikyo at all, I spit at the ground. "I have no time for you," I said aloud, no longer caring if anyone could hear me.

Of course you do. You have all the time on the clock in this hell of the world that will soon be mine…

"Oh, so now you're planning for world domination?"

But, my love, I've been planning world domination for quite sometime now. I just first need my king.

That comment made me uncomfortable, far more disturbed than Amy hugging me. I stood up and began to walk, finding something to do. I didn't want the thing to try to take me again.

It snickered at me. Oh, how fun you are.

I shook it off and entered the tavern as quickly as I could. I found Amy, Ero and Meep eating at the bar area. "Hey guys!" I said quickly. Voices always seemed to stop Shikyo from doing anything weird. I looked around, "Where's Kage?"

Ero shrugged. "Probably getting as far away from society as possible."

"We're the only society here," I said back. I was happy I was not hearing a response from the voice. "I'm going to go find him, OK?"

He waved me away, "Sure, sure."

I headed up the stairs.

The Black Kitsune… what an interesting person he is…

'What do you want with him anyway?' I asked. 'He has broken out of your spell already. He won't fall again.'

How do you know, dear Miles? You never know when one could go mad again. Mad people, no matter how sane they appear, are always mad. And, only the insane equate pain with success. Tehee…

I threw open the door to one of the rooms to make a loud noise for the voice to go away. It just happens Kage was in that very same room.

He was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. His arms were hanging off. He almost seemed lifeless. He turned his head to me, "Do ya have to make so much noise?"

"Sorry," I muttered.

He turned back to the ceiling. "It's OK."

There was silence.

"Ero told ya didn't he?"

"What?" I asked, playing innocent.

"I'm not stupid, runt. He told you."

I sighed and nodded, "He thought it was for the better."

"He always thinks everything is for the better." He began to play with a feather bomb from his sickle I found lying on the floor next to the bed. "… Like keeping me alive… 'for the better,' he says. And to think, I almost killed him."

I approached him.

"DON'T GET ANY CLOSER!" He cried.

I stepped back in horror. Kage was breathing hard now and his sight was focused on the ceiling. The feather was starting to fall out of his hand. "Kage, c'mon! This isn't funny!" I told him, screaming loud enough that Ero and Amy could hear. I hope they would know this was serious. 'Shikyo,' I cried, 'don't do this!'

He's doing this on his own accord. What am I supposed to do?

'SHIKYO!'

It laughed. Kitsune, kitsune, the cursed few, more interesting than Sonikku.

My gaze on Kage began to blur. But as it did, I noticed his eyes were different. They were just like the ones that Shikyo possessed. I felt myself stumble back.

The feather fell.

Kage caught it just before it hit his chest.

I fell to the ground more in relief than pain. My vision collected itself and I found that Kage was sitting up in bed staring at the feather. His eyes were back to as normal as they could it. He looked at me, "Hey, where'd this come from, runt? You should never play with one of these things, ya know. They're dangerous."

"I didn't --!" I started, but stopped. It would be better if he didn't know.

He picked up his sickle and stuck it back onto the handle. As I stared at him, I realized that he knew exactly what had happened, but he had won once more. I was happy that the number did not turn to 429.

Sorry this took so long! I forgot to type it on the computer. My fault. Now review before I have to chuck an evil feather at you. (Chucks evil feather)


	15. Chapter 15

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 15

Tails' POV

"Rise and shine! Rise and shine!" Kage called as he swung open the door to our room. "It's 4:30 in the morning already! You're wastin daylight! Let's go! Come on up, dunderheads!"

I opened one of my eyes to look at the kitsune. He was banging pans together trying to get Ero, Amy, and Meep up. He didn't bother with me; he knew I was awake.

Amy sat up and groaned, "Do you have to be so loud?"

"Do you have to be such a dumb-ass?" Kage asked back.

Amy lunged at him, but he simply moved out of her way and she hit the floor-boards face first. She cried out in pain, but none of us really seemed to care.

Ero sat up and rubbed his eyes, "I'm up, I'm up…"

Meep seemed not too happy about being awoken from his slumber.

"Outta bed, let's go!" Kage cried, not caring how tired we were.

"Dude," Ero yelled to him, chucking a rock he found on the floor at the black kitsune, "you said 6'oclock was when were supposed to get up!"

Kage caught the rock just as it was going to nail into his face. "I said we're going at 6'oclock and since Bratness here probably wants to do her hair – which I must say looks as though you have a cat on your head – I woke y'all up early!"

Amy lunged at him again, but the same result happened.

Kage smirked, "I cooked breakfast."

I spit out the pancake piece I had just shoved in my mouth, "God, Kage! You suck at cooking!"

Kage plugged my nose and shoved the pancake down my throat. "Who cares? Eat up, it's not like I'm cookin everyday for ya!"

I sighed, "Yes, Kage." And I forced myself to eat the rest of my pancake.

Ero looked up from his pancake, which he seemed to be fine with, "Hey, Kage, gotta question for ya. What do you think Descentmet would know about Shikyo anyway?"

Kage shrugged, "Just got a feeling those bastards up there have some information. They're always hidin something from us up there."

"Would you stop cussing?" Amy asked annoyed. She didn't even attempt to try any of the black kitsune's pancakes.

"Uh….. no."

The hedgehog rolled her eyes.

"How long will it take to get from here to the foot of Mount Meteor?" I asked just so I could talk.

"All day. But if we go soon then we should be able to make it before dust."

I sighed. All this traveling and no sleep was really putting its toll on me. I coughed. Like I said, it was really putting its toll on me. I felt as though I was going to fall apart, but I didn't want to say anything about it. It would make Amy worry and Kage think I'm a wuss. I ate the last piece of Kage's pancake and sat down my fork. Let's just hope he never cooks again.

Kage stood up, "Everybody ready?"

"MEEP!" Meep cried in excitement.

Ero looked at the Chao annoyed and said to Kage, "But it's only five!"

"Even better!"

There was no longer a road or a manmade trail to help us through what we went through now. Weeds and plants and trees grew like no tomorrow across the forest, which was hot even though the trees above were providing shade I looked down at the watch that I had found in the tavern. It was only 7 A.M. and it felt as though we were frying in a pan with sausages at our heels.

I twisted around Kage's sword, which was in its case, with my hand. I had never used one ever before in my life… sure, I've seen movies, but… would those help me?

I looked over to my companions. Amy looked as bored and as tired as hell, Meep and Ero were bickering with each other about who knows what, and Kage… well, he was just in his own little world – like always.

The black kitsune suddenly stopped and we almost ran into him. We looked to where he was staring, which was the ground, to find tracks. "Well, what do we have here?" Kage asked. He knelt down and began to examine them. We knelt down too. "Looks like hedgehog tracks to me. What about you Meep?"

Meep nodded, "Meep, meep!"

He picked up some dust off one of the tracks and felt it on his fingertips. "About a week old… huh." He stood up, "Who's up to see where they lead?"

Amy yelled, "No way! You were the one that said we had to be to the foot of the mountain by dusk! You never know where these things could lead us!"

Kage stood up, "They are heading our way right?"

"Well, yeah…" Amy muttered.

"Then let's follow them!" And he headed off.

The pink hedgehog looked at Ero and I to stand up to this decision, but we just shrugged. We were both smart enough to know not to object.

The tracks were following our exact trail. Ero suggested that they were going to Descentmet, but Kage disagreed. Something about spiritualists not liking to travel or something.

The tracks ended dead by a bush.

Ero shivered, "Are you sure this is such a good idea, Kage?"

"Oh of course it is," the kitsune cooed. "What are you? Scared?"

"NO!"

"Good." He parted the bushes and we stepped inside.

We were all caught off guard at the sight we saw.

Blood soaked the ground around the large oak in the center of the large bushes. In the blood were footsteps of a hedgehog and there were lots of lizard tracks. But the main thing that caught our attention was the older orange kitsune in a royal dress that was hanging from one of the fat branches with a rope around her neck.

"Well," Kage said, finally deciding to speak, "we found the Queen."

Shadow's POV

I felt a drop of water hit my forehead. I slowly opened my eyes just to see more darkness. 'Where….' I asked myself, 'am I?' I tried to push myself up to at least sit up, but my arms were too weak. I tried again. No result.

A drop of water fell into my burning eye. I sat up and almost screamed out in pain. It was like an ice burg slipping into the flames. Well, on the good side, at least I was up. I could still see nothing. Just the abyss surrounding me kept me company. I suddenly fell cold and I rubbed my arms to try to circulate the heat through my veins, but it wasn't working. I sighed.

I jumped when I heard something like a door open. I looked over to see what was there. Then I remembered I could only see shadows.

"Milord, this is not going how we planned," a first voice said.

I heard a chuckle, "It's quite all right… if they can play my game, I guess we could try theirs."

The second voice was dreadfully deep and almost had an Irish que to it. And it had an evil-like insanity to it that it made me shiver.

The second voice continued, "So Kage is leading them to Descentmet, correct?"

"Yes, Milord."

"Then we just need to lead them back," the second voice cooed.

I saw red eyes glow through the shadows. They pierced my eyes. They looked around. "Hmmm….. Oh, I've got the perfect idea."

The eyes landed on me.


	16. Chapter 16

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 16

Tails' POV

I looked at the hanging body of the Queen gruesomely. Shikyo had gone overboard with her death. The corpse was crippling by the moment as the blood flowed out and hit the forest terrain. Her eyes were rolled back inside of her head; only the white of them could be seen. Her wrists were slit and she had bites bleeding all over her body; some from the mysterious shadow chameleons, others from creatures unknown.

Amy was mesmerized, but finally muttered, "We gotta bury her."

Ero, Meep, and I agreed.

I looked up to see what Kage would say and was caught off guard. He started to back up away from the tree. "I sense danger here. Let's go."

"You just don't want to ----!" Amy cried, but was cut short.

The trees bark began to crack. Out of the trunk, the leaves, and the ground emerged black shadows, hissing and snickering with excitement. The chameleons had just found the new catch of the day: Us.

"Oh shit," Kage muttered. He whipped around to Ero while his sickle appeared in his hand, "You take the runt and bratness. I'll handle this!"

Ero nodded and picked both of us up against our own will.

"Meep, go with them. Now! Get outta here, dammit!"

Ero and Meep rushed Amy and I out of the bushes and down the forest trail. The last glimpse of Kage that I saw was him being his bloody massacre. The chameleons began to come of the trees' green canopy, following us in their own deadly pursuit.

Meep grew his claws and began to fight off the ones around us while still trying to keep up. I looked in front of us just to find own of them jump into my face and knock me out…

V I S I O N

_I woke up in a small living room of a house. My vision was hazy, but when it recovered, I found the kitsune that looked just like me sitting on the couch. He was happily playing with his three pet chameleons… _

_He withdrew from his play and looked to the door. It opened and the pink hedgehog with the two fox tails entered. "Oh, hey, Ai." The kitsune muttered. _

_Ai? But isn't that Shikyo? _

_'Ai' jumped onto the couch next to him and took one of the chameleons off of his arm. "Shouldn't you be out helping your father?" _

_"Shhhhhhh," the kitsune whispered, "I _am _doing that." _

_Ai groaned, "Up to your old tricks again aren't you?" _

_He only grinned. _

_"I don't want it any other way," Ai said. She kissed him._

_The kitsune blushed. _

_Shikyo's voice suddenly spoke in my ear, You two are so much alike._

_I was suddenly pulled into reality. _

R E A L I T Y

I sat up and rubbed my head. My vision was as blurred as ever. I sighed. Did that little flashback mean anything? I shook my head, but eyesight still didn't recover.

"Hey, look who's up," a voice said.

I looked over to find a fuzzy picture of Kage. I blinked a few times and he came in better. He stood up from the tree stump he was sitting on and walked over to me. "C'mon, runt." He hit me over the head.

I blinked and this time my view was back to normal. "Owww… what happened?"

"You blanked out. Can't you ever learn to stay awake when chased by hundreds of black lizards? I had to save your ass, and next time I ain't gonna do it. Now get up."

I pushed myself on my feet to see Ero, Meep, and Amy sitting on a rock watching me. "Hi, everybody," I muttered.

"You've delayed us two hours already. Let's get moving."

I stared up at the sky – or at least what I could see of the sky – as we continued on through the cursed forest. We were all aching from the last battle in our own little way… It seemed that Meep and Ero had another fight because while the other one wasn't looking, they'd make faces or flick them off. What great friends…. Amy seemed to not be having much fun; she kept muttering about how dirty her clothes were or how she needed to do her hair or….

As for Kage, he was ahead of us in his own little world like always. We all quieted down behind him when he started singing, "A Salvation Army Band played, and the children drunk lemonade, and the morning lasted all day, all day. And through an open window came like Sinatra in a younger day, pushing the town way. Ah hey ma ma ma a-k ma ka maia hey ma ma ma ah life in a northern town."

Amy muttered, "For such a rude person, he's a pretty good singer…"

"Ol' Kage can amaze ya in so many ways," Ero said.

Oh yes, so many ways…

I shuddered.

Kage heard none of the conversation, but just kept on singing.

The trees suddenly ended and we came out on a cliff overlooking an enormous mountain that's peak reached to the heavens. Around its base was a high-tech city that rounded the front part of the mountain. The thing was though… it wasn't that far from here…

"Guess I estimated wrong," Kage muttered, "it wasn't as long as I thought it would be." He realized something. "Oh, I didn't take the long way this time!"

Ero chucked Meep – who nailed the black kitsune in the head – at his partner, "What! We took the long way to Hatsu Kingdom from here! Then you get us up at 4:30 in the morning to head over here! KAGE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Kage did his usual smirk, "Like I said, this is the hostage and crazy guy harassment program. And oh, you couldn't beat me if you tried." He jumped off the cliff.

"KAGE!" Ero cried. He followed him down shouting. "I could beat you any day, punk!"

I looked to Amy. She sighed, "I say we leave now. The three idiots won't notice we're gone for awhile." She laughed. "They just leave us alone. Some kidnappers they are."

"Kage ain't stupid, neither are Ero and Meep," I told her. "They can trust us walking alone cuz they know at least I will follow." I began to make my way down the cliff after them.

"But Tails," Amy cried, "what do you have to do with them?"

I paused and took a look at the great mountain ahead, "I have a feeling this city they are leading us to has all the answers…"

Hello again everybody! So finally the mountain that holds the city of Descentmet has been found, but what will this city know about Shikyo? No one knows, not even I – no, just kidding. I know. I have to know, don't I. Dang.

Oh, I would like to say something. Every single thing done in this fanfic has a reason to it. The most trivial thing could be the most important thing of all. Just remember that. Everything will come together at one point, so I would start noticing some of the more… unimportant things – they can help you figure this all out later on.

And funkmaster, it's Shadow for a reason.


	17. Chapter 17

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 17

Tails' POV (Who'd ya think? Shikyo?)

We stuck close as we made our way through Kiwi. I felt a bit safer in this town because it was almost exactly like Knothole, but yet at the same time it seemed way more dangerous than the forest. The more people, the more trouble I had learned… Shikyo could easily try one of her tricks here.

"Who's up for staying in the inn?" Kage asked, looking back at us.

Amy immediately raised her hand. "Me! Me! I vote inn!"

"I wasn't asking you, bratness…"

Amy twitched in rage and was about to hit Kage with her hammer, but Meep held her back in attempt to stop her from a huge mistake.

"I don't think so," I muttered.

"What!" Amy cried. She thought of something and settled down, "Oh, you don't have a vote. That's a good thing."

"Whatcha talkin about? Runt's gotta vote," Kage said, "cuz he actually does everything I say… now, why not, runt."

"Too many people. Shikyo could easily take over a whole outfit of the city and send them our way."

Always thinking, the voice cooed.

I ignored it. "I think we've had enough fighting for today, so…" That's when I noticed I had lost Kage. Hm, such a daydreamer.

Kage blinked, "Where'd ya come up with all that from?"

"Ya know the saying, 'You can never be too safe'." I gave Kage a minute to remember such a line…

"No…. actually I don't. Oh, I just came up with a NEW saying, 'Shut up, runt, and stay that way'." He marched off.

Ero clapped, "Gotta hand it to ya, Kage ---!"

"I thought you were on my side," I told him dryly.

"Well yeah, but… Hey, Kage can't go off alone!" He ran off.

Amy groaned, "We could still get away."

I followed Kage and Ero.

I was happy that the tavern we were staying in (were you expecting Kage to listen to my idea?) had kiwi tasting coffee. Yes, it did taste like shit, but it was something different from the normal coffee I had been sneaking in Hatsu Kingdom and the other tavern we were staying in…

The bartender looked at me, "Hey, kid, you should by getting to be right about now. It's midnight."

Yes, bed sounds VERY good….

"No thanks," I muttered to both of them as I stiffened myself for another sip of the gross coffee. Maybe I should've stayed with regular coffee. Oh well, I won't make that mistake on my next batch…

A bit cranky aren't we?

'Guess so… thanks to you.'

The voice chuckled, Now, now, you shouldn't go blaming things on people…

I ignored its comment and took another gruesome sip.

The voice continued on, So you and the black kitsune are heading to Descentmet, eh? What are you planning to find there, Miles?

'I don't know.'

Wandering aimlessly… I've done that before. It helps none.

'Kage knows what he's doing.'

Or does he?

I noticed my vision was getting hazy again. I stood up immediately, "Uh, bed actually sounds good. Yeah, bed." I slapped some money down on the counter and walked upstairs towards the room we had rented for the night.

Shikyo was taunting me all the way.

The next day we were on the road again. Oh, and about bed, that never worked for me or Kage. We were traveling up a manmade road, but the black kitsune said it only lead to a mine right off the base of the mountain and didn't go up too far.

I had come down with a fever last night, and the crisp mountain breeze sent me the chills. The evergreen trees were a nice touch to the gray shining rocks that held the entire foundation of this 'Descentmet' city we were heading to. The coniferous trees were so tall that if you could manage to get to the top of one, you could see for miles across the Land of Hatsu and we were only about 100m above Kiwi.

"So, like," Amy asked, "are we actually staying at this 'Descentmet' place for awhile or what?"

Ero shrugged, "Depends." He looked up to his partner, who as always singing in his little world a tune most of the world has never heard. "I don't know what Kage wants with the place… I've never heard of a 'Shikyo' in my village before. It's probably just one of his crazy ideas. We won't be their long."

The pink hedgehog growled, "Can't we ever kept still in this circus bus?"

Meep looked at her confused, "Meep, meep?"

"Circus bus?" Ero asked, translating Meep. "How are we a circus bus?"

"Never mind."

The rabbit and Chao stared at her quite confused, as did I. Sure; Kage was a bit strange in his own ways and Meep and Ero fight over stupid stuff, but does that make us a circus bus? I realized Shikyo probably thought of us in the same way… Trying to get away from her power and madness, it 10 to 1 makes her laugh and maybe even pity us.

No, not pity us.

I looked up to the sun through the thick branches of the evergreen trees. I closed my eyes still facing the sky, smiling now that I had gotten used to the cold air. Maybe… this adventure was what I wanted. I know, I know, the Sonic Team isn't with me, but… this is the first time I have ever been treated like an adult. The Team always treated me as a kid and held me back, but now they couldn't. I do pray that they are safe, but still… I feel suddenly as though I am free. The people here know I can take care of myself. I mean, I have resisted Shikyo for all this time, unlike many others under her watchful eye and demanding voice. If Sonic could see me on this, maybe the next mission we do together he'd let me do everything…

"Runt, RUNT!"

I snapped out of my thinking and looked to the black kitsune who was twitching in anger. "Uh…."

He sighed, "C'mon, we gotta give off the main road, and please don't make me beat your ass… I'm tired." He pushed me into the pines and we began up the rocks of the mountain.

I couldn't daydream anymore and neither could Kage. We had to keep our minds and eyes on the rocks. The climb up the mountain had been harder than most of us had expected. I would be smart and fly, but I had already tried, and the wind was too strong and lack of sleep wasn't helping. Amy had quit long ago and now was on Ero's back holding Meep close to her so his small body wouldn't fly off on us.

"I hope we're not taking the long way," Ero cried.

Kage blinked, "Oppss."

"KAGE!"

"It's the hostage and crazy guy harassment program," I told Ero so Kage wouldn't have to waste his breath.

"Thank you," Kage said.

I smiled. I never thought I would hear the black kitsune say such a line.

We crossed through a cloud of fog, which wasn't fun because one misplaced step and you were gone… literally. But we soon were happy we had passed through the gray mist, for the town of Descentmet could be seen.

My muscles had never hurt so badly in my life. The combination of no sleep and climbing a mountain wasn't good for the body. I had never been happier to see a town before in my life. I was a bit shocked when an axe almost hit me though.

A cougar came out from the shadows of a large pine tree. He wore guard armor and a glare that I didn't think could be wiped off. He then noticed Ero. "Ero, hey! Is that really you?"

Ero waved. "Hey! Yep, I'm here in one piece!"

"I thought you were dead --!"

"Hey," Kage interrupted, "do ya think you can not chuck sharp things at people." He picked the large weapon up by the handle and threw it into a tree. "Thanks." He crossed into the town.

"You brought him back?" the cougar asked dully.

Ero chuckled. "Ha, yeah. This whole trip back was his idea."

The cougar looked down at us and his glare came back stronger than ever. "And you bring non-spiritualists here too? What's wrong with you, Ero? The outsider is enough!" He looked to the rabbit with fury. "I'm amazed the black kitsune's allowed here."

Ero looked to us and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about this, guys. You just go on with Kage, I'll catch up."

I nodded. "Ok."

We walked into the town and were immediately met by glares of hate. It's like they automatically knew we didn't belong here. It made chills spring up my back all over again. I felt someone garb my hand.

Amy.

I grasped it tightly and hurried my step up to Kage. A dog woman that looked older than most came up to us and looked at both us and the black kitsune in disgust. "What do you want here?"

"Don't worry," Kage muttered, "we're not here for long. I just need to have a nice chat with the Watchers."

The woman's face looked surprised.

The… Watchers?

Hey everyone! I'm back again with another chapter. Cookies for Kelsey. But hey, got something to tell y'all (haha, sound like a hick. Wait, I am one). As you know, it's the summer and you know… during the summer you uh… do stuff. Yeah. There is going to be weeks I'm not going to be here soo… here's my schedule:

June 20 – June 27 – Creation Fest

I'll be in Pennsylvania with no computer and I'm not even sure if I'll have time to write soo…

July 3 – July 7 – Tennessee at Lake Norse

I'll have a computer here, but I'm not sure about internet… I'll give you an update.

There's also a time in July when I'm going to Florida and I'm not sure when that is… I'll give you an update on that but I will have a computer and internet there, so it really doesn't matter.

The point is that I'm going to be gone a lot this summer so the chapters might be coming up slow. I want to get Darkest Before Dawn done August, but looking at this schedule I think that goal is crushed. So before the 20th I'm going to try my best to get up as many chapters as possible. So please cheer me on and review! Thanks!


	18. Chapter 18

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 18

Tails' POV

The woman stuttered, "You're-you're here to see _them_?"

"Isn't that what I said?" The black kitsune grumbled back.

I looked back at Ero and Meep, who had surprise in their eyes also. Had Kage not even told them about seeing 'The Watchers'? By the look on their faces told me whoever these people were, they were high in ranking and not often spoken to by commoners. Great… Kage, what are you trying to do?

"What do you need to see them for?" the woman asked dryly.

"I have a question and I'm sure they have an answer."

Ero took Kage's arm and pulled him back. He shook the kitsune, "Are you nuts, Kage! I've seen some of your crazy ideas, but this! Man, these people control everything here! One false move and we're dead."

"They know about Shikyo," he said blankly.

"Yeah, know about you and your ordeal with her! You'll be shunned, executed!"

He repeated himself, "They know about Shikyo."

Ero slowly let go of him. "…. I fuckin hate it when I trust you."

Kage didn't even respond to the comment. Instead he turned to the woman and said once more, "I have a question for the Watchers and they have an answer."

The dog woman icy eyes glared, but nodded. "Fine. I will talk to them and see if they will allow such low-lives to see them."

Kage smirked. "Great, thanks!"

She moved away swiftly from the scene muttering to herself. As soon as she was out of her sight, Kage just had to add, "Man, what a bitch."

Amy sighed, "You're so charming, Kage."

"Aren't I?"

"MR. KAGE!"

The voice came to us in quite a shock. It was a little girl's voice, crying happily through the air. A white rabbit, about the age of 6, ran up to the confused kitsune and hugged him tightly. She had a pink flower in her hair and was wearing a plain blue dress with daisies. In her left hand firmly gripped was a plush rabbit.

The rabbit let him go, but did not move away, "It's soo good to see you, Mr. Kage! I thought you were never coming back, or that's at least what Mama said." She hugged him again. "I've missed you soo much!"

Kage grunted.

Amy giggled, "Wow. That was the last thing I was ever expecting."

"Kage is a gentler person than you think you know," Ero said.

"Ha," I said playfully, "right."

No POV (Wow, amazing, I know)

F L A S H B A C K

_The little rabbit girl, Molly, sprinted through the dark forest; fear filled her blue eyes. It was down-pouring on the poor girl as she clutched her plush rabbit to her chest. She looked back to find that the red eyes of the chameleons were still following her. _

_She would run home, yes, and that's what she was trying to do, but the fear had driven her into the darker parts of the mountain forest that were unknown to the six year old. She had tried all of her power on the beings to shoo them and usually she had enough just to do that, but the lizards didn't seem to care about magic. _

_She tripped._

_She fell to the ground, crying hard. She could not save herself from the beasts… she could not save her doll either. She tried to get up, but something was pushing her down. An unknown force kept her in her muddy grave. She swore she heard someone laugh at her as the red eyes gained on her. _

_She screamed, he echoes filled the air, but she knew no one was there. She would've found someone by now if there had been. She saw one of the chameleons pounce, baring its black tear and claws. She closed her eyes to make the horrible death seem less painless._

_The chameleon never did fulfill its task. She slowly opened one of her eyes to see the chameleons being wiped away by a large shadowed creature wielding… a spiritualist sickle? _

_The shadowed figure killed the last of the lizards and the night fell silent once their cries were over with. The killer looked to her, flashing its red eyes. Molly shrieked and tried to move backwards away from it, but she was paralyzed with dread. _

_The silhouette stepped into the moonlight to reveal a mysterious black kitsune in hiking boots. "Hey, baby-wuss, why the long face?"_

P R E S E N T

Tail's POV

As we walked through the town, getting glares and stares from its citizens, Kage wasn't a happy camper. Molly held onto his arm tightly and had no intention of letting him free anytime soon.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, baby-wuss?" Kage asked the little girl coldly, tugging to get his arm free from her grasp.

"Nope!"

I noticed that Ero and Meep were having the time of their lives watching this. They were snickering under their breathes at him, but their traps were quickly shut when the kitsune gave them his icy death glare.

When Kage turned back around, I decided to ask Ero my question, "So… who are these Watchers anyway?"

Panic spread on his face, "Well… uh… they're spiritualists…" He nodded to Meep to make him agree, but Meep shook his head no. "Why you little!" He knocked him over the head with his fist. He looked back to Amy and I, who were giving him the 'you're lying' face. "All right, all right. How do I explain this…? Well, see, you two got parents right?"

We both shook our heads no.

"Hey, we have a lot more in common now. But anyway, the Watchers are kinda like the spiritualists' parent in a way."

"They trained you?"

"Well, yeah somewhat. I guess you can say that." Ero muttered. "They're parents with a lot of authority and power. Their so deep and strong in their magic and mental abilities that easily they could get the world, just one of them. Now, they're old guys, over a thousand years old actually. They trained the first spiritualists and then it went from there, so they don't take students anymore."

"Hmm…" I muttered.

"Anything else?" Amy asked.

"Not really except for thanks to Kage the Watchers are going to cut off our heads!" Ero screamed directly at the black kitsune, who wasn't paying attention at all to our conversation.

"What would they know about Shikyo?" I asked.

"Nothing. Kage is going whacked. Sure, Shikyo has to be a spiritualist if she can do all these whacko-nutso things, but this isn't only one town of us – there's many more. And they sure don't keep records of every single one."

"All right, how many are there?"

"There used to be ten, but now there's nine. One of them died a couple years ago. No one knows how."

"Oh." I looked to the black kitsune ahead, 'What are you planning?'

I was dragged out of my thoughts when I saw the dog woman rushing towards us. She looked up at Kage with wide eyes. "They said this: 'Bring the black kitsune to us'."

Kage smirked. "Well, goody-goody-gum-drops. Let's go."

Short chapter, yes. For a reason, yes. If I put anything else in this chapter, then too much would be figured out before the next one. So yeah. Go me. Chapter 19 is going to be long so yeah, it's going to take awhile so hang onto your hats.

Oh, one more thing. Something was given away in this chapter. Find it and you might just figure out the entire mystery.


	19. Chapter 19

Before I begin this chapter…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're all wrong! ALL WRONG! Ha, how I love making fun of my readers in the morning! I've gotten several emails telling me what people think the answer to the mystery and YOU'RE ALL WRONG! I don't know about Pirhana27 though. If you'd email me at wit you answer before you read this chapter that would be awesome cuz I want to laugh at you too cuz I think you're wrong. Yeah, in Chapter 17 is the answer to the ENTIRE mystery of Darkest Before Dawn, not the Watcher crap. If you look at it close enough you should be able to find it if you've read the entire thing. Can't give you any hints though, sorry! So yeah, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I laugh at you all.

But anyway,

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 19

The dog woman led us into a cave at the end of the large spiritualist city. The cave was widely guarded for it to be any old cave. The guards gave us glares as we entered. I realized we were not welcomed and that the sooner we got this over with and out of here the better. I looked back to find the grumpy Molly sulking away from the scene; Kage had told her to bug off.

The cave, at first, appeared to be normal. We traveled through the rigid rocks and avoided the ice crystals swooping from the ceiling. But soon we had arrived at an awfully large round door that blocked the other side and Descentmet from each other. The dog woman muttered, "Frika."

The earth shook as the door rolled away to reveal a hall decorated with pictures and shiny oak wood. Out rolled was a large red carpet. The room reminded me immediately of the castle in Hatsu. We walked inside.

I noticed then that the dog woman kept glancing back at me with a confused and somewhat scared look. Was it that I was an outsider? Or was it something else…?

Amy, Ero, and Meep seemed not to notice the lady at all as they took in the atmosphere around them. And as for Kage, he was up next to the woman minding his own business, his head hung in thought.

The woman suddenly whispered to Kage in attempt to talk to him without getting the rest of us in the conversation. "That kitsune… he looks… like _him_."

Kage nodded, glancing back at me.

I acted as though I wasn't listening and was looking around like the rest of us. I tried to figure out what they were talking about by myself, but I was interrupted:

So true, so true, the voice said, almost as though she was nodding. You and Keita are exactly alike…

Keita! So Keita was that kitsune's name. But how would Kage and this woman know of him?

My thoughts were once again broken when we reached large double doors made out of complete pine bark in front of us. The dog woman turned to us and began, "As soon as you enter these doors, you will be face-to-face with Milord the Watchers. Do not speak unless you are spoken to and when you get inside you will bow. If they bow to you, you will bow lower. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kage said, bored already of her short instructions, "just let us inside already…"

She clapped her hands together twice and the door slowly began to open, revealing what seemed to be a court room. The center was nothing but a shiny white marble floor and in front of it, raised off the ground, were seats.

We entered and the door slammed behind us. The dog woman was no longer with us, for she had scurried away long ago.

At first it seemed as though we were in the dim lighted room alone, but suddenly the seats above us were beginning to fill with people in elegant robes. They all held staffs which an orb on the top, all different colors. But I noticed that one seat at the end was empty. I remembered what Ero had said: _"There used to be ten, but now there's nine. One of them died a couple of years ago. No one knows how." _It must be the seat the 10th Watcher once sat in.

We bowed.

Each of them stood up and bowed back.

We bowed deeper.

"At ease," the one at the middle cooed as though he was amused by our presence. The rest of the Watchers sat down, but the middle one did not. "Welcome, black kitsune. When I heard of your return, I was quite surprised."

"Ha, lots of things happen," Kage said, smirking.

"I was told you have a question for us. It better be good, black kitsune, for you do know that you have brought two non-spiritualists, which is restricted by our law."

"It's good. Promise."

The Watcher's eyes fell on me and he stared for a moment, as though he was reading my mind. He suddenly looked away, looking back to Kage.

Kage began since he was not, "What do you know about Shikyo's powers?"

He looked surprised, "Shikyo? Why, we have never heard of such a person!"

The black kitsune's eyes hardened, "Fine, I'll play it your way. What do you know about Ai's powers?"

One of the other Watchers arose, "We know not what you are talking about, black kitsune! We know of no Shikyo nor Ai!"

"Then let me refresh your memories," Kage said, his voice raising. I noticed that Ero was now praying for our lives to be spared. "This little tale starts about a thousand years ago, when the Watchers were first formed. There was ten of you, powerful with your mental power that you soon made into what the world now knows as magic. You passed on this power to others like you, calling them the spiritualists. After they got apprentices and the clan began to grow, you all isolated yourselves like you did the cities of the clan from the rest of the world.

"Or maybe I should say NINE of you isolated yourselves inside this mountain now known as Mount Meteor. The tenth one did not. He lived among the clan outside of your asylum. His name? Keita Akihiro Hanari."

I stepped back. Was it the same Keita I was thinking of? No… it couldn't be.

Kage continued, even though he did notice both mine and the Watchers' uneasiness, "You soon saw him as a threat, so one night you set fire to his house, killing him and all of his family."

Before my eyes I suddenly saw the house on fire, the screaming residents inside. The door was covered, there was no way of escaping from such a trap. But then I saw a pink hedgehog fall from the window, a shadow of a kitsune had thrown her. She lost coincidence on impact.

The room slowly faded back to normal as Kage continued on, "There were not supposed to be any survivors from the fire, was there! But there was! A girl by the name of Ai Atari Muraoko escaped the fire that dreadful night and was sent to the hospital in Kiwi. That next night you kidnapped her. But – BUT, you didn't kill her like you intended to. Instead you staged her death and brought her here, in this mountain asylum.

"You tortured her, played with her, erased her very memories of the life she used to have. Finally, she was ready – ready to be trained to replace Keita as the 10th Watcher and restore the order of the spiritualists.

"You trained her and she became stronger. Her mental awareness increased so much that she realized that something was locked… One night, once the rest of you were deep in sleep, she broke your memory bind. The sudden image of her love, Keita, drove her to insanity.

"That night she tried to kill you all the way you killed Keita, she set a fire to not only the mountain asylum, but Descentmet itself! You captured her and sentenced her to death. The day of her execution, she could no longer be found. Instead of searching for the girl that now called herself SHIKYO you erased the minds of the spiritualists that knew about her and kept it quiet." Kage ended with a deep breath.

His smirk came back when he bowed sarcastically to both us and the Watchers, "Thank you, thank you! I've been awake 7/24 for the last 5 weeks, so I've had a lot of time to think about it! Thank you!"

The Watchers weren't so happy. I could now see the fear in each of their eyes as they stared at the black kitsune.

"You," the Watcher that was standing muttered to Kage, but then stopped. "You… are no normal spiritualist…"

Kage took pride in the comment and bowed, even though the bow was still quite sarcastic, "Why thank you. I've gotten that from a lot of people."

A grin suddenly appeared on him and his eyes suddenly took a leap of confidence, "But who should listen to a raving mad black kitsune?"

Kage and the rest of us were caught off-guard by this comment.

"Oh yes. I got a report that you were taken to the National Mental Institute of Hatsu after the massacre in the forest village of Micura, correct?"

The black kitsune didn't answer. This was the first time I had seen fear in his blood red eyes. It actually showed a whole new side of him.

Amy seemed quite confused and also terrified. Oh yeah, forgot to tell her about that. Meep was sucking one of his small hands for comfort. And Ero didn't move at all but I saw that sudden rage in his eyes. I myself was upset they even brought up the matter.

"Let me rephrase the question, black kitsune. Did you go insane?"

Kage answered, "Yes…"

"When you go insane, kitsune, are you listening, WHEN YOU GO INSANE, you sometime HALLUCINATE about things. You hear, HALLUCINATE! There is no such thing as an 'Ai' or 'Shikyo'! They are all voices in your head, because INSANE people have VOICES in their HEAD! Understand, kitsune?"

Kage didn't answer.

"UNDERSTAND, KITSUNE?"

Still no response.

I wanted to say something in his defense, I really did, but my mouth was dry. Dry from the Watchers words to him and from what I had heard from Kage about Shikyo.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND, KITSUNE?"

"NOOOO!" A voice suddenly screamed.

Everyone looked around confused, but soon our eyes all fell on the small person it was coming from.

Meep.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!" He cried. "No, Kage, no! KAGE NO INSANE! No, no, no! Kage… NO! Meep, no." He struggled to put the words together while still muttering 'no'. "No, meep, meep. NO! NO INSANE!"

Out of all of us, Kage seemed the most surprised.

Meep got fed up with trying to talk to the damn Watchers up above and screamed, "MEEP LEAVING!" He flew over to Kage, grabbed his hand, and began to drag him off.

We followed.

The last thing I saw before we left from the court like room was the standing Watcher sigh in relief.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better," Ero said as he fanned the high growing flame from our fire. We had camped right outside of the city in the vast land of evergreens.

Meep quickly agreed as he sat on the ground Indian-style with his arms crossed, "Meep!"

"No," Kage muttered.

We looked to the black kitsune surprised. He hadn't talked since we left the Watchers' palace in the stone.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ero asked. He suddenly seemed paranoid with everything. "If we go in there again, we're dead! Do you want that?"

"….. The bastards still haven't asked my fuckin question."

"And never will, Kage! They aren't going to talk."

"Not _yet _they aren't."

"Give it up!"

I stood up, making a decision. "I vote on we stay! Meep?"

Meep nodded, seeing things suddenly in a whole new light. He fluttered in the air and cried, "MEEP!" And began to kick and punch the air. "THEY ANSWER MEEP!"

"Amy?"

Amy looked to Kage and then smiled. She turned to Ero, "Looks like its 4 to 1, Ero. Sorry."

Ero sat down on the ground. "Fine, but how are we gonna get them to talk?"

Kage's normal smirk returned to him, "Oh, believe me, I'll have them talk…"

The fuckin Watchers suck. Sorry. Ok, yes, let's have a pity party for Shikyo: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Ok, we're done. I still hate her, so it doesn't matter. So yeah, review.


	20. Chapter 20

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 20

Tails' POV

"Kage, I hate you!" Amy cried, looking at herself. She was now standing in an orange kimono. Her hair was put up in a different way and on her bottom was two large stuffed orange kitsune tails.

I was surprised, and somewhat terrified, as I stared at her. She looked exactly like Shikyo standing there, and her eyes seemed to have the same red hating passion as she glared at the black kitsune.

Meep and Ero seemed to be having fun laughing at her. But of course, the two of them had never seen Shikyo. If they had, the probably would've been dead silent like I was.

That's when I noticed that the mastermind behind this operation was also keeping his distance. Kage wasn't acting any different, but he definitely didn't want Amy to come any closer to him. He coughed, drawing all attention towards him, "All right. Ero, we need the last attachment."

Ero nodded quickly and a small box appeared floating in his hand. It quickly transformed into an axe that was twice the size of him. He handed it to Amy and she almost fell over from the weight of the large object. "How heavy is this thing?" She asked, juggling its weight from one hand to another.

The rabbit shrugged playfully.

"Are you sure they'll fall for this?" I asked Kage.

He answered, "They know she's still alive now from our last little talk… I don't see how weird it will be if she suddenly comes back for revenge."

"You're really mean."

He smirked, "Why thank you."

"What do I have to do now?" Amy asked, her voice hissing as her eyelid twitched. I actually felt sorry for her, but Kage didn't seem to take notice of her suffering.

"You raid the place."

"Raid it? How?"

"Just use the axe like you do your hammer. It shouldn't be that hard."

"How are the Watchers going to figure out about this?"

His smirk once again returned, "Ero and the runt will take care of that."

We raced through the city at full speed towards the cave guarded ahead. Even though most of the residents were once again staring, we pretended not to notice as we skidded to a halt in front of the dog woman.

"We need to talk to the Watchers," Ero said, putting on his perfect acting once again. I didn't say anything and wasn't planning to. I wasn't that great at this stuff.

The lady sneered, "They don't want to see you again."

"It's an emergency!" Ero pleaded, his eyes growing wide with fake fear. "If we are not allowed to see them, at least tell them this message: Shikyo has come for revenge."

"Who?"

"Shikyo, ma'am. They should know _exactly _who you're talking about."

She stepped back. "All – all right, I'll tell them." She entered the cave.

Grins appeared on both of us. I gave Ero a high five.

There were no longer guards in front of the cave entrance. They were all dispatched about 15 minutes ago by the dog woman after she had reported to the Watchers to scout the area for a pink hedgehog with orange tails.

I motioned to the three in the forest. It was showtime.

Kage pushed Amy, who still seemed very upset with the idea, along as we entered into the cave almost unnoticed. We traveled once again through the rigged rocks until we reached the door. Soon we were pacing down the beautiful hallway after the simple word 'Frika'. We reached the large pinewood doors.

"I still hate you," Amy told the black kitsune.

"Let all your hatred rise then. You just look good, we'll do the rest of the work."

Ero and Meep opened the doors violently and Amy was pushed into the room. She gripped Ero's axe tightly as she tried her best to make an insane grin appear on her face. She then noticed there were fire effects behind her, but never turned around to see them.

The Watchers seemed to be ready, I saw the fear in their eyes as they pointed their staffs at her. "Don't come any closer, Shikyo!" One of them cried.

The fire immediately died and Kage slipped into the room.

"What's this?" He asked, his voice filled with sarcastic confusion. "I thought you said just today there was no such thing as 'Shikyo', that she was just an imaginary voice inside my 'insane' little head. Either you suddenly turned insane over this last hour or," he pulled the tails off of Amy, "you've been lying."

"Ow," Amy muttered in frustration. She began to mess with her hair to get it back to her normal hairdo.

The rest of us entered the room.

"Meep, meep!" Meep cried, flipping in the air.

Some of the Watchers sighed in relief, most of them actually. But the one that we had been talking to earlier in the day had rage in his eyes. He suddenly disappeared and suddenly appeared on the marble ground with us. He walked up to Kage and they stared at each other for the longest time. Finally, the Watcher muttered, "Who… are you?"

Kage only smirked.

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do," Ero said, folding his arms.

The Watcher sighed, "Fine. I will answer your questions…"

"Everything you know about Shikyo," Kage said.

He nodded, "Sit." He clapped his hands twice and floating black chairs suddenly appeared below us. We sat down, but Kage remained standing. "It is true that we set fire to Keita's house and that we staged Ai, or as she is called now, Shikyo's death. We taught her in our arts --."

"Old news," Kage said rather rudely, "I just need to know what she can do."

"Her mental ability is incredible. She could possess and poison the minds of millions at a time, no matter how smart or cunning the victim is. She can control things of nature and turn them into shadows ---."

"Explains the chameleons…"

"She can shape-shift."

For the first time in this conversation, or maybe ever, Kage looked as interested as we were. "Shape-shift?"

"Take forms. One minute she can be a tree, next minute a blade of grass. Hell, she could be a mountain if she wanted to."

"And you taught this stuff to a raving mad bitch?"

Oh, I heard Shikyo voice say, anger actually in her normally smooth voice, he'll pay for that remark.

I shook her out of my head and concentrated on the conversation at hand.

The Watcher did not answer the question, but continued on, "She is well-educated in potions also."

"Is there any way to kill her?" Kage said, getting to the point.

"Kill her?"

"Yes," he said, patience wearing thin.

"No. We made her perfect."

Before Kage could strangle the guy, the doors flew open. We turned to find the dog woman rushing in, fear filled her cold gray eyes. "The village – the village!" She cried, falling to her knees. "A hedgehog, chameleons… destroying everything."

We looked to each other, "Shikyo."

Hello again everybody. Haha, I laugh at you. Don't know why, but I do. Just one thing… YAY! MEEP ROX! Sorry. More and more characters seem to be coming into this as the story falls into place, so I summed up the main 5 people:

**Tails** – The main character of the story. Known to the rest of the world as Sonic's faithful double tailed sidekick, this seems to be the first time that the kitsune has been in his own spotlight. He thought this adventure concerning Shikyo would be a chance to prove not only to the Sonic Team, but the world, that he was strong enough to fend for himself, but now all he wants to do is get home and sleep. Even though almost always with company around him, Tails has had to deal with Shikyo alone in the darkness – or at least until he met Kage. He was happy to finally meet someone with the same experiences he was gone through, but – either because of lack of time or Kage's lack of attention – the two have never really talked about it, or at least not yet. He now is on a journey not only to save his and his companions lives, but the world's also…

**Kage **– The mystery of the teenage black kitsune might be more intriguing than the whole threat of Shikyo put together. The only thing known about him is that he is a highly trained spiritualist and has been possessed more than once by the demon Shikyo. The rest of his past lays in the ruins for now and at the same time may never be told if he doesn't stop his bad habit of being sarcastic.

**Meep **– Kage's sidekick. He saved Tails from being taken by Shikyo in Chapter 9 and has been with the kitsune ever since. Even though most of the time the Chao is limited to the word "meep", he has a strong spirit and won't put up with anyone making fun of his friends and that's a fact.

**Ero **– A rabbit spiritualist from the town of Mori Mura. According to him, he was dragged by Kage into this entire Shikyo mess. He is a good actor, putting up a scene with the Hatsu doctors to be labeled as insane so he could go with Kage to the mental house. He is short-tempered no matter what it comes to and seems to have a hating passion for the cute innocent Meep. And even though he seems to be arguing with him 24/7, Ero would do anything for the black kitsune that 'kidnapped' him.

**Amy **– At first, this famous pink hedgehog is not an important character to the mission, but soon finds herself a hostage of Kage like Tails. It began when she got the message the Sonic Team went missing at Eggman's place after the madman was claimed dead. Hammer in hand, she set out with a mission to find her friends, but instead finds herself traveling with the smart-ass Kage, the cute Meep, the short-tempered Ero, and quiet Tails. But hey, she found one of her friends, right?

Yes, long I know. But anyway, just being the curious person I am, in your review would you please tell me who your fav. character is. It'll be fun. Thanks and please review!


	21. Chapter 21

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 21

Tails' POV

The smell of blood and ash was the first thing that hit me once we reached the mouth of the cave. Flames layered the houses and smoke filled the once crystal clear sky. The large evergreen trees' bristles burned to ashes and I caught out of the corner of my eye that the chameleons, with large axes the size of Ero's, were chopping the trees down. One fell and landed on several spiritualists, who were fending off the sudden coming wave of shadows.

"No… this can't be happening…" I heard a voice say behind me. I turned to find the Watchers standing behind us; their eyes reflected the flames as they burnt the spiritualist capital to the ground. "We can not allow Shikyo to do this."

"Then do something," Kage muttered. He picks the worst times to be sarcastic.

The Watchers disappeared.

Ero took his axe from Amy and handed her hammer which he was holding for her. "We'll be needing these."

"We're fighting these things?" She asked, fear filling her eyes.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kage asked. "Scream and run?"

"Sounds like a good idea," she answered.

The black kitsune didn't respond to her, but instead looked over to Meep. "You take the runt and bratness out to find at least one of those Watcher bastards: I'm not done with my questions. Ero and I'll find the leader of this assault."

Meep saluted and transformed into his large form with large claws. We followed him, leaving Kage and Ero behind in the flames.

Amy shrieked.

Meep and I whipped around and I drew Kage's sword, ready to kill what had come. But no chameleons were bothering us, for they were too distracted by the spiritualists they were fighting and killing. But instead I found that Amy had tripped over the head of the dog woman that led us to the Watchers beforehand. I saw he body a couple feet to our right. Must have been beheaded.

"Come on, Amy," I said, motioning her forward. I avoided eye contact with the dog lady who now laid in two parts.

I heard the voice laugh in my head. Everyone's going to die, she said smoothly, even the rabbit spiritualist and the pink hedgehog!

I ignored her even though I did let out a flinch.

We continued forward. Suddenly the cougar, which had thrown the axe at me only earlier today came in front of us, a spear through his stomach. He fell to the ground and into his own puddle of blood. The chameleons came out of the ground and piled over him, devouring his flesh and internal organs.

One of them noticed me and gave out a call much like a bird's. The others slowly looked towards us and immediately attacked.

I tried my best to slash through them with the sword I was now using for the first time, but the more I killed the more that came. Finally, after what seemed like countless hours of full-fledged conflict, the chameleons, at least around us, were gone. Black clumps lied everywhere and in front of us was half the body of the cougar – the other half, even the bones, had been devoured.

I took a step forward and my foot landed in something mushy. It was the cougar's brains. I almost threw up, but contained myself and quickly stepped back and rubbed my shoe against the ground. I heard a groan of disgust from Amy, but nothing from Meep.

We continued on, now closer to each other than ever. I could hear the chopping breath of Amy and felt the air being suppressed by Meep's large bat wings. We were too close for comfort, yet still too far away. A chill went up my spine as I heard screaming come from further in the city of Descentmet.

We found ourselves soon at the large pillar stone that stood in the middle of the city. Most of the chameleons were around here, but yet again too busy with the war-trained spiritualists. I noticed something.

A hazy black figure was writing something large on the stone in the blood of who I soon realized to be one of the Watchers. Soon the blood read: "**I AM, INDEED, THE PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR SINS**".

The writer turned towards us, revealing his face.

I gasped, "Shadow?"

Ero's POV

I lifted my axe above my head as I jumped into the air. I brought the blade straight into one of the many chameleons' heads and went through its black skull. I flung my axe, which still held the chameleon's head, to the side and broke through yet another one. I hit my axe on the other side and the two chameleons flew off the blade and became apart of the destruction around us.

I looked to Kage, who was finishing off his last one. He kneeled down to one of the bodies of the chameleons and took a bit of its flesh into his fingers. He sniffed it and took a lick.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him. "You don't know where that thing's been!" I walked over to him and grabbed the chuck out of his hand and threw it.

"As I thought," he said, standing up and totally ignoring my question and comment. "Seal. Shikyo's incarnating the dead…"

"Well, that's great to know," I said annoyed.

Kage was about to say something to me, but a voice came from behind us. "MR. KAGE! MR. KAGE!" We both flung around to find Molly running to us. Tears filled her eyes. When she reached us, she clung onto the black kitsune. "Mr. Kage, I'm scared!"

Usually, he would tell her to go away and leave him alone, but instead he picked her up and then from there on ignored her like he would do usually. "Shikyo's not here, but there's gotta be a damn leader somewhere," he told me, "there was a leader in Forestine and there's a leader here, got it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll look for a psycho."

"They're not that hard to find…"

Tails' POV

I took a step forward, getting a closer look at the hedgehog. He looked normal, for the most part, except for the mad look swirling in his eyes. He had fallen to Shikyo.

"Welcome, Miles," he said, jumping down from his spot by the pillar. His voice was lower than normal, "I have been expecting you." He scanned around the area, as if he was looking for something. "But where is the black kitsune, I must ask."

"Somewhere," I answered dryly. No matter how much I didn't want to believe the fact that my friend had given in, I did not try to make peace. It wouldn't be possible.

Shadow bent down and picked up the Watcher's weapon, which appeared to a sickle like Kage's. "What do you say, Miles? Let's spar a round."

I readied my sword. Shadow usually wasn't that good with weapons, but I couldn't underestimate him while in Shikyo's power. I heard Amy mummer to stop and step back, but I blocked her out; Shadow would never allow me to do that.

He launched himself off the ground, sickle in hand, at me. I barely blocked his blade. I then realized he was too fast for me. He butted me in the stomach with the end of the sickle's handle and I flew back into Amy. Meep slashed him across the face.

Shadow smirked and grabbed the Chao by the throat, chocking him. "Stupid Chao, don't interfere." He threw him into a pit of the chameleons and Meep began his life struggle against the man-eating lizards.

I stood up, not bothering to help Amy. I ran towards him and slashed my sword at his neck, but he grabbed my by both of my tails and the back of my neck. He held me up close to his face. "You're going to have to do better than this… if you ever want to survive Master Shikyo…"

I noticed that his weapon was lying on the ground and I stabbed into the handle, barely scratching it. But to my relief, the sickle turned into a small green box and disappeared into the wind.

Shadow stared down at the ground. This was my chance. I closed my eyes. Sorry Shadow. I stabbed at him and felt the sword go through him. I felt, as I stabbed, my tails and my lower body dropped. I slowly opened my eyes. My sword had gone through his hand. "Nice try," he said, smirking.

I heard a battle cry from behind us and Amy took a whack at the black hedgehog, nailing him in the stomach. I was completely released from his grip and he slammed into the pillar just below his writing. He slid down it and onto the ground. I looked to Amy, who was panting and crying all at once. "Sorry, Shadow…" She muttered.

But Shadow stood up like nothing happened.

His eyes suddenly grew a bit wider and I felt something suddenly dropped into my bloody hands. Molly? She looked up at me confused, tears filling her eyes.

I then saw that Kage was in front of us, sickle tightly spellbound in his hand. "Hey there, smart-ass. Wanna go for a round?"

Shadow smirked. "Gladly." He picked up my sword, which I just now noticed I had dropped and took a slash at Kage, who dodged it.

I felt Ero pulled on my arm and he dragged us back. He tripped over something and then we were surrounded by more of Shikyo's shadow chameleons. I felt Meep suddenly on my head. I guess he survived his death trap. The lizards bared their black teeth and jumped at us. I grabbed a dead spiritualist's spear and stabbed it into one of the demons while holding the sobbing Molly in my other arm. We continued the onslaught, and that's when I comprehended that the rest of the spiritualists were dead. There might be one or two still struggling to survive, but… the capital city was gone. Descentmet could never been the same way again.

There was nothing I could do to save it. I stabbed another chameleon. We would be the only ones walking out of here alive…

I sliced through the back of the last shadow and it gave out a finally battle cry before it died. I sighed. Finally, we were done.

There was a scream that pierced through the crackling flames around us.

"Kage!" Ero cried.

Kage was huddled over in front of the chuckling Shadow in a ball, rocking back and forth. He was shaking, covered in his and others' blood.

Shadow muttered, "It wouldn't hurt too long, black kitsune…."

Kage stopped moving.

I saw that Ero stared at the black cluster in terror. He stepped back. "Not again."

I felt something grasp my leg. Meep, who was back to normal, stared at his master muttering 'meep' and the occasional 'Kage'…

Kage slowly stood up and grabbed his sickle. He turned around and faced us. The first thing I saw was the mad look in his eye.

The echo of Shikyo's snickering filled my head.

Wahoo! 21st chapter is done and who knows when the next one will be out! On the 23rd I'm off the Pennsylvania till the 27th and won't have a computer. I have an 8 hour drive there and back so I'll probably will get a chapter or two done, but won't be able to put them up for a bit longer.

The quote "I am, indeed, the punishment for your sins" is from the PS2 and PC game CHAOS LEGION made by Capcom. Rent it at Blockbuster; it's a fun game.

Please review and hope to see ya on the 27th!

Oh, and umm… no cougars, dogs, or chameleons were hurt in this production…

Thank you.


	22. Chapter 22

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 22

Tails' POV

"I must be going," Shadow said, breaking the horrifying silence, but not the terror-filled stare as we gazed at our mad friend, "I have orders to attend to. But I'm sure the black kitsune will be happy to bring Miles and himself to Master Shikyo after he kills the rest of you, right, black kitsune?"

Kage didn't respond, but his eyes looked like blood and his insane grin told his dreaded answer.

"Good." And Shadow left us.

There was silence for what seemed like hours, at some points even days, as we kept our sights on our friend the black kitsune, who seemed to be waiting for us to make the first move.

What are you going to do, Miles? the voice of Shikyo asked, mocking, Kill him? Oh, I hope not. Even I wouldn't kill a FRIEND.

'Shut up,' I told her sternly, 'I'll figure this out…'

At that moment I noticed that Ero had stepped forward with his axe in hand. He was about to tell us to go, but I stopped him, "You take Amy and Molly," I said quickly, my sights still on Kage, "I'll fight him."

"You?" Ero asked, somewhat amazed at my sudden outburst. "I'm not underestimating you, kid, but Kage isn't you normal dimwit."

"He can't hurt me and I sure don't want to hurt him," I answered back. "You guys just go and see if you can find anyone alive, preferably any of the Watchers. We won't be long…" 'I hope', I added in my mind.

Kage got sick of waiting and launched himself into the air, his sickle high above his head, and brought it down on top of us. I barely blocked it with the sword – I had recovered it earlier once Shadow had left. The sword, to my incredulity, cracked. "This would be the time to leave," I told them, pushing the black kitsune's blade away from me.

The rest of my comrades left, leaving only Kage and I in the massive flames surrounding the inner city. 'There has to be a way to get him out of this,' I told myself, 'he's gotten out of it before….' I blocked his next attack, my blade cracking even more. 'But the question is how…. before I met him I thought there was no way to revert back to normal after Shikyo's transformation…'

The butt of the sickle suddenly came into my stomach and I was knocked into the large pillar with the blood writing scratched across it. 'I should stop thinking now…' I blocked his next attack again, but this time the sword entirely shattered.

He stuck the blade of his weapon close to my neck and chuckled, "I win."

Great, I lost that easily. But at the same time, Kage's attacks in this fight were somewhat sad. If he had been normal, he could have cracked the sword in one hit. I looked around to try to find a weapon, but none seemed to be in my reach. So, there was only one option….

I held out my hand and said, "Hi, the name's Miles, or you can call me RUNT."

He looked confused as he stared down at me, some of the insanity flooding out of his red eyes. But he soon hardened again. "Don't play with me."

"I'm not playing," I said quickly.

"Yes you are."

"No, my name is Runt. Call me Runt."

I reached for a rock and chucked it at his head. It hit him between the eyes and I tackled him, pushing him straight to the ground. "Your name is Kage, you're a spiritualist, you have a partner named Meep, a little girl named Molly loves you to death, and you are the most sarcastic son-of-a-bitch that I have ever met in my life."

He smacked me off of him and raised his weapon above me, "Shut up! You know nothing! MASTER SHIKYO SAYS YOU LIE!" He bought the butt of the pole holding his blade down on my stomach again. He chuckled slightly, twitching. "I'm not Kage… I'm nobody… NOBODY!"

My eyes hardened. There was no way to talk to him. He still wasn't as bad as the others I've seen…. could he be fighting himself? It was a possibility, but it seemed farfetched. The Watchers said that Shikyo was perfect. I guess the other time Kage reverted back was just a flaw in her power.

I sighed. There was no way to bring him back…

I might as well end his pain here now.

I grabbed the spear that I was using before against the wave of the chameleons and charged at him, giving out a war cry. He blocked it, as I was expecting. We fought in front of the pillar representing the spiritualist clan. I stabbed at him with full force, trying to erase all the memories of him normal out of my head.

Kitsune, kitsune, the cursed few, more interesting than Sonikku, Shikyo chuckled.

I felt my hands lose grip of the spear and I heard it hit the ground. I was knocked to the ground by an invisible force and Kage raised the sickle above me again, ready to stab me in the stomach with the end of his weapon once more.

I knew after this blow I'd be done for.

I'd lose conscious and be brought to Shikyo.

I'd be possessed and brought under her power.

I'd lose….

Everything…

I sighed. Oh well, I made it this far. It was something to be proud of, right? I had survived all the insanity she threw in my way until now. I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do now but lay here waiting for my atonement.

I couldn't save the world.

I couldn't save Shadow.

I couldn't save Kage.

I couldn't save my comrades.

I couldn't save myself.

I guess this is just how this crazy world goes. I was reminded of the poem Shikyo had spoke to me while whisking through the forest. I guess she was right. All will fall. Memories flooded back to me about meeting Captain Little, Peterson going insane, staying at the Hatsu Castle, meeting Kage at the mental house, having breakfast with the Princess, getting kidnapped, the fun times with my new friends, the hard times, staying at the forest village of Murcia, Amy, hiking the mountain, coming here to one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, the Watchers, and now this… and it was coming to an end so quickly.

This was the point when I noticed I hadn't been hit yet. Maybe I have and didn't notice, maybe it didn't hurt. But the other times hurt… why didn't this one? And anyway, are you supposed to be able to think while unconscious?

I slowly opened my left eye to see what was going on. Kage was still standing over me with the sickle lifted high, but I noticed that the sickle was shaking violently like the rest of the black kitsune's body. He stepped back, despite the fact that he was wanting at the same time to go forward and finish the job.

I sat up perplexed as I gazed at my friend. Could he really be fighting back…? Was it even possible? I didn't exactly know what was going on really anymore.

He dropped the sickle and stepped back from it, though his hand was reaching for it. He fell on his knees and shook his head trying to shake Shikyo's voice away into the flames around us. His hand suddenly came up at him and clawed him on the side of the face.

I stood up completely and took a step towards him, but after that I couldn't move my legs. I was close enough to grab the sickle, which one of his hands was still trying to grab, and though it straight into the pillar to my right. It stuck right between the words punishment and sin, hitting both for and your. I looked back at him.

By now he was in a small ball like before. But I noticed he was humming something. At first I couldn't make it out, but the more I listened the more the tune became clear to me.

Nightingale.

The shaking soon stopped and he was still, not moving an inch.

"Kage?" I asked, finally able to step towards him.

He looked up at me, his eyes back to as normal as they could be.

I laughed in relief. So there was a way to defy Shikyo. There was hope….

"Stop laughing," Kage snapped, "I have a migraine!" He rubbed his head.

I nodded. "Of course." I helped him to his feet and at that point I couldn't help myself. I hugged him. "Welcome back."

He seemed very uncomfortable and I moved back before he had to tell me to get off him or die. He muttered, "Good to be back…"

"Mr. Kage!"

We both looked to our left to find the others, who seemed happy to see the black kitsune and me in one piece.

Kiwi was buzzing. Police and ambulances were everywhere, the people stared and pointed to the mountain as it bathed in flames, and T.V. reporters were everywhere asking people what was going on.

We walked through all the crowds acting like we were never there although blood did cover us. "I'm going to check if I can do anything in the hospital," Ero said, leaving us.

We stopped by a big mass of people that were staring at the three large screens that were floating in the air showing us who I made out quickly to be Shadow and scientists talking about him.

Kage grunted, "Figures."

We looked up at him waiting for him to explain, like always.

"Lots of people though Shadow was going to betray Sonic at one point when he joined your 'team' right?"

Amy nodded, "Yeah. We had some problems with that."

"Shikyo could have used anyone of your friends, but she used Shadow because he was more believable that the others to do such a thing. If she used Sonic, who would believe? So Shadow was perfect. Now Hatsu is going to get off of her back and onto Shadow's…. smart move. Now it's Hatsu's turn… Hope they don't do anything stupid."

"Guys!"

We turned around to find Ero, who was panting heavily. "The hospital… one of the Watchers is at the hospital."

We rushed to the floor 5, LIFELINE. Though most of the doctors were telling us to slow down, we still made it to room "290" in record time.

There in the bed was the leader Watcher, Fujiro Joshuya, who was in terrible shape. The only thing keeping him alive was a small tube sticking out of his chest and leading to a machine controlling his heart.

He was weak, but still looked over to us. "Oh, black kitsune… you're still alive."

"Yeah."

"C-Come here, boy…" He said, motioning to him.

Kage took a step forward and leaned over the dying body of Fujiro.

"I…. have some…. thing to tell you…"

"Spit it," the black kitsune snapped.

"Don't be so mean!" Amy cried.

Kage didn't respond.

"K-K," Fujiro muttered, panting heavily. He couldn't seem to get it out. Kage gripped the bars lining the bed tightly, waiting for the information.

"Keita is still alive."

And Fujiro pulled his plug.

Finally, Chapter 22 is up! Lots has been happening (like going to Tennessee, going to Pennsylvania, my grandpa about to die, and crap) that I haven't been able to write for a while. On Monday, I'm leaving for Florida…. I think. I might not, depends on when my grandpa pasts away. But I should have a computer anyway, so I'll try to write.

Review please! Thanks!


	23. Chapter 23

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 23

Tails' POV

"This is so confusing!" Ero bellowed, kicking a rock which was on the ground up into the air and into the branches of some oak trees ahead. "So Keita is alive, but the question is where?"

I shrugged for an answer. Everything that has been going on since my math quiz has been confusing, but this is probably the most puzzling thing. Keita Akihiro Hanari alive…? Does Shikyo even know such information? And if she does… why is she doing all this? Is there something we don't know? I rubbed my head. I'm thinking too much again….

"Maybe Keita is working with Shikyo," Amy suggested.

"No," Kage said immediately. He hadn't talked since we had been in the hospital and had been staring at the sky every since. He looked back to us, "I know that for sure. There is no way he's helping her."

Amy sighed, "I'm just trying to help!"

"Well stop. You're ideas suck."

I had to hold Amy back from smashing her hammer over his skull. I didn't think that Kage should be rejecting any suggestions at this point in time. It is possible that Keita went insane also, but then what does she want with me?

"Mr. Kage?" Molly asked, gripping tightly onto her stuffed rabbit which now only had one eye, one ear, and no nose. "Where are we going?"

"Fall Tip," he said dully.

"Meep?" The Chao who was hovering around his master's head asked with a puzzled face.

"Fall Tip?" Ero questioned, translating Meep's noise. "What's there?"

Kage sighed in annoyance, "Where else will we get a boat?"

It was my turn to interrogate, "A boat? Where are we going?"

"Mori Mura. It's a spiritualist city in Acorn. I know someone that will be able to find Keita there."

Ero suddenly looked worried, "But in Mori Mura is…."

Kage gave him a death glare and the older rabbit quickly shut his mouth.

Molly seemed as excited as Meep was and didn't notice the glance the black kitsune gave his partner, "Wow, I've never been to Fall Tip before!" She twirled around and lost her footing, falling into Amy.

Amy picked her up, "Either have I."

"Kage?" I said.

He looked back at me, "What, runt?"

"Do you think we could fly? I mean I can carry Amy and Molly and you can get Ero… Meep can handle himself. It would be much faster."

He gave me a dull look, "No. There is no way I'm carrying," he pointed to Ero, "him. Do you know how much he weighs?"

Ero gave out a grunt, "Hey."

"I'll carry Ero then." I offered to be reasonable, but I should have been able to know Kage's obvious response.

"Nope. We're not flying and that's that. You know why?"

We hung our heads, "Because this is the hostage and crazy guy harassment program…."

He grinned, "Exactly."

The trek over the grasslands was almost as hard as climbing Mount Meteor. We were tired from the fight that had happened this morning and I myself was as sleepy as hell. Maybe it would be good to slumber tonight, but then again… I got sleepier just thinking about it.

But sunset thank god finally came. It took us a while to set up camp and everyone – even Molly – helped get everything ready. Sadly, we had no wood so we couldn't start a fire, but no one seemed to mind and no one seemed to want a warm meal either. Everything we had seen today had stolen our appetite.

Molly looked up to Kage with the biggest blue eyes, "Mr. Kage, will you tell me a bed-time story?"

"Sure," he said quickly. I just had a feeling this would be interesting… "Once upon a time there was a girl named Baby-wuss. She was an annoying little bunny that always got into people's way, so they send her to bed. The end."

Molly didn't seem too happy with the story.

Amy groaned and picked up the sad bunny, "_I'll _tell her a story." She stuck her tongue out at the sarcastic black kitsune and left us while starting a story about one of the great adventures she had with Sonic.

Kage smirked and seemed quite happy the two were gone, "All right, now that the two idiots are gone, we can finally talk."

"I don't see the reason we're going to Mori Mura," Ero said immediately as he played with a piece of straw which was hanging out of his mouth. "The Grand Elder would think we're insane asking such a question. And anyway, how do we know the geezer is still alive?"

"If the guy croaked, he croaked. Obviously someone had to take his place as the Grand Elder of Mori Mura, right? And if that bastard was set in the position, he has to be able to help us. Trust me."

"Trust you," Ero said acerbically. "I remember the last time I did that…. like _today _for instance! Look Kage, today was not a good day for any of us. None of us had fun. You know why? Cuz we trusted you!"

Kage shooed him away, "Come on, don't be such a party-pooper. Shikyo was going to send her troops over there at some point anyway and set those grand fires. It's called 'revenge'."

"I gotta agree," I said hastily, hoping they would not get mad by my intrusion on their conversation. "Shikyo had been planning to set Descentmet up in flames since she first went fanatical! The Descentmet Fire was not our fault."

Kage seemed pleased, but Ero was frustrated. "I thought you were on my side," he mumbled to me.

Kage leaned back on one of the bags Ero had brought with us and smirked, "What can I say? Everyone loves me!"

"Not everyone," the rabbit snapped.

The black kitsune got to the point, "So we're going to Mori Mura and that's that."

Meep and I nodded. Ero groaned, but had to nod too.

"Good."

"Since we're going to Mori Mura, you have to do something for me," Ero speedily muttered to the kitsune in a different tone then before.

"I never said that," Kage said back. Ero gave him a pleading look, and he said, "Fine! What?"

"Get some sleep."

Kage cocked an eyebrow. By the look in his eye I could tell he didn't like the idea that much. He stood up and was about to refuse to do his partner's command, but Ero nudged his fist into the black kitsune's stomach. Kage held on for a few seconds, but then knocked out, his head landing on Ero's shoulder.

It's time for you to go to sleep too, Shikyo laughed.

My eyelids suddenly got extremely heavy and I tried to fight against the oncoming wave of sleepiness, but soon I found myself deep into dreams.

V I S I O N

_It was dark. No stars lit the sky and not a sign of light echoed the place. I took a step to find that my footstep made water circle and a chime recoil across the dark landscape. Then the song Nightingale ricocheted into my ears and I began to run towards the song. The closer I got, the louder it became. _

_I skidded to a stop when I came to a rock in front of me. Sitting on top of it with a sad expression as he played his ocarina was no other than Keita himself. I stepped forward towards him to get a closer look at the orange kitsune. He seemed depressed about something. I wanted to talk to him, but my voice would not emerge. _

_A voice from the shadows asked, "Keita, what's wrong?" _

_The voice… it sounded familiar. It wasn't Shikyo, but yet the ring in it bothered me. I had heard it somewhere come out of someone's mouth, but when and where was the question. I couldn't put my finger on it, which made me absolutely perturbed. _

_Keita stopped the song and looked to where the voice had come from, "Well… it's about Ai…" _

_"Ai?" _

_He nodded, "She's been acting strange lately. Her voice is changing and she doesn't seem her cheerful self anymore." _

_"Hmm… never been a lady person myself." _

_The 10th Watcher smiled and chuckled, "I know." _

_"Something's change, other things don't. Ai will be fine. She's just not as 'grown up' as you remember." _

_"Of course." _

_I heard footsteps coming towards us and I noticed that the shadowed creature had left in quite a hurry when the footsteps sounded through the dull air. Ai came right through me and walked over to Keita. _

_"Hey," Keita greeted. "What are you doing out here?" _

_Ai pecked him on the cheek, "Lookin for you." _

_"Oh." _

_She sat down next to him and they started up into the starless sky for a long time. Finally, Ai muttered, "Keita, what do you think of Dream Worlds?"_

_"Dream Worlds?" _

_She nodded, "Yes. Do you ever think a Dream World could interfere with the Real World?" She seemed serious about such a childish question._

_"That depends… what kind of Dream World it is, Ai." _

_"One were the world is backwards," she began . I noticed that a grin appeared on her face and her voice changed. "One where the sky is red and the flowers are dead. The cats are skinny, the rabbits are mad, and the evils of the world can live quite glad. Where everyone is waiting in fear while they slowly realize that the evil cannot be cured. And we can live happily on thrones while the inhabitants of this world think they're alone." She sighed happily._

_Keita stared at his love with fear in his eyes. I could tell this was the last thing that he was not expecting that response from her. _

_Ai jumped off the rock and seemed completely normal, "Come on, Keita, let's go inside. It's going to storm tonight." _

_The kitsune hesitated, but grabbed her hand. And she led him off. _

R E A L I T Y

I sat up in quite a frenzy. Had Ai – I mean Shikyo – really say something like that to Keita back then? And if she did, why did Keita still follow her? At first I thought that the Watchers were insane for killing Keita, but now a new idea was dawning on me. Amy may be right. Keita could be with Shikyo.

Even though the only thing lighting our campsite was the stars above I noticed that Ero, Meep, Amy, and Molly were all sleeping by each other. But where is Kage? I looked around to find that the black kitsune had utterly disappeared.

I searched further to find him lying alone sleeping a bit too far from camp. I found it weird. Why would Ero put him this far? My wondering was stopped when I heard Kage mutter something.

"Shikyo…" he rapped the blanket, which Ero must have given him, tighter around him as he looked almost as he was in…. fear? "Stop it… I hate you…"

I stepped closer and my hand shot out to shake him and wake him up, but something made me pull back. I sat down next to him.

He pulled his head under the blanket as his breathes got chopper and heavier, "Get off me, you fucker…!"

Before I could stop myself, I was shaking Kage rapidly trying to wake him up, "Kage! Kage, wake up!"

His eyes flung open and at first he didn't seem to know where he was. He stumbled back and fell onto the ground, but thank god soon he knew it was me. "Oh, uh… hey, runt."

I didn't want to scare him anymore or anything, but I got to the point, "Are you all right?"

I looked down to his feet and muttered, "No…" He placed his hand on my shoulder, "We gotta kill her."

I nodded.

Shikyo must be destroyed.

All right children lesson time! I am going to tell you the most important thing I could tell you right now. Listening? Are you sure? Ok. Rape is bad. Never do it.

Next subject.

I'm going to stop writing. That's right everyone gasp. Yeah, everyone that was reading before isn't reading anymore or decided not to review. So yeah. I don't see the point of writing anymore so I'm not. So Darkest Before Dawn ends here… unless some people review to let me know at least SOMEONE is reading. I don't want to waste my time writing something when no one is reviewing.

So yeah. Bye.


	24. Chapter 24

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 24

Tails' POV

Kage refused to talk to Ero. Or to anyone else actually. The black kitsune had been unusually quiet all day as we trekked over the grasslands and I knew why. The events that happened last night had frightened the kitsune that I thought was fearless and left him voiceless.

I knew Ero wanted to say something, but either his pride or his fear stopped him from talking to Kage. So the two spiritualists were completely soundless, as the same for Meep and me.

I noticed that neither Amy nor Molly noticed the awkward silence, for Amy was going on about how Sonic saved the world from Eggman and many other adventures that happened in the past. As I listened in on their conversation I almost felt sick. Some of the things the pink hedgehog was talking about were vague to me even though she said my name several times. Have I forgotten everything that happened with Sonic? Was Sonic even important to me anymore?

I shook the thought out of my head. Of course Sonic and the team were important to me! How could I think of such a thing? But a question in my mind still lingered: Do these people that I'm traveling with that I only met a week or two ago be more significant to me then the team I have known all my life? Do I care now more about their safety than the safety of the people that took me into their homes and hearts?

The question hit me like a barrel and made my head hurt thinking about it.

That's when I noticed my stomach was growling. I remember I haven't eaten since two days ago and it's already around lunch time. I tapped Ero on the shoulder and he jumped. He glared down at me and whispered. "What?"

"Let's look for some food and wood. It'll be good to get something into our stomachs, right?"

He seemed relieved when I saw in his eyes he understood he could get away for a while. "Yeah, sure." He made it so everyone could hear, "Hey, Tails and I are going to get some food. You guys can just keep moving, we'll catch up."

"All right," Amy nodded, "see you soon."

And we left.

The grasslands were plain. Only grass and flimsy trees covered the area and not a piece of meat could be seen. I wanted to say something to Ero and start up a conversation, but I was still amazed I even talked him into coming out here with me. And it didn't seem like a good idea to disrupt the serious thinking I could tell the rabbit spiritualist was doing.

It took awhile, but Ero finally burst. "I'm so stupid!"

I looked at him in lying mystification. I acted as though I did not know what he talking about, but deep inside I knew exactly what he felt so dumb about.

"I meant good… I mean, how was I supposed to know it would happen again?"

"Again?" I asked. Now I wasn't acting, I was truly surprised.

"All right. It all started like this. Bout 6 weeks ago I left Mori Mura in an attempt to find Kage, who had disappeared without a trace from the isolated city. I took a lucky wild guess and trekked across Acorn and to Hatsu and up Mount Meteor to Descentmet to find him walking in that night with Molly, who had been reported missing when I had arrived.

"He was surprised to see me, yes, but not happy. He told me to go back, for something was wrong. I informed him I was instructed to bring him back and I couldn't leave him. But when he said something was wrong it bothered me. I asked him about it and he freaked on me. That night I guess he tried to sleep so I wouldn't ask again, but…

"I woke up to his screaming. I tried my best to calm him down, but he wouldn't come near me… saying something about me being Shikyo or something. That's the point when I was filled in on everything and started this adventure with him. Ha, if I would have known Shikyo was a raving mad bitch with an army of shadow chameleons and psycho guys, I would have gone home."

"Oh," I muttered. So Kage has been involved with Shikyo for more than 6 weeks at least now… But why would Shikyo have such interest in the black kitsune? He doesn't look anything like Keita and the fact that the 10th and now only Watcher is still alive doesn't make any sense. I'm starting to lack the thinking capability to even know why _I'm _implicated in all this now that the news Keita is alive has gotten out.

I felt a brush of wind and looked over to find that Ero had his axe in his hand and hit something on the ground with it. Blood spattered up just passed my knees.

"Damn, just a rat."

Lunch was not fun. Everyone except for the black kitsune deep in thought was starving and now we had reason to be mad at Ero. He was the one that packed the bag and entirely forgot food.

Ero wasn't in the greatest mood ever either and I don't think it was because of food. He was drawing doodles in the sand and would hit Meep when the Chao would be mean and erase them.

Amy leaned over into my ear, "Is there something wrong?"

I immediately hit her in the shoulder, giving her a glare to shut up before I had to hit her for real. She quickly nestled back down in her spot of grass and looked at her shoes and said no more.

It was a long time before anyone said anything and the only sounds that could be heard were the whistling of the grass being blown by the wind and the occasional smacks for Ero's stick that Meep got. But soon the two's fussing was over and then the world seemed even more dead.

Finally, the most unexpected person talked to Ero.

"Come on already," Kage said rudely, "if you are going to come out of the closet, this is obviously the time to do it, dip-shit."

Ero seemed offended, "Excuse me? Are you saying I'm gay?" Next thing we know, the stick that was once hitting Meep was now smacking Kage. "I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND YOU KNOW!"

As the two spiritualists fought, Molly looked up to both of us, "What's gay?"

Amy simply covered her ears.

I smiled. Things were back to normal.

Or at least as normal as they could get.

Hello, bitches, guess whose back? Ok no you guys are bitches. Don't stop reading. Please. (Begs) Yah, well obviously I'm back…. if you guys haven't noticed and yeah…. I'm quite surprised. Most of the people that reviewed I've never – now listen to this – NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE! Now what's wrong with that? Nothing really… but hey dudes that just started reviewing, review more often please. You don't have to every single chapter, but you know… let me know you guys are still reading at least!

Oh, speaking of that… I gotta make fun of someone.

(Sigh) Ok, I've noticed that people have been reading reviews lately because I said I was quitting (when I really wasn't haha, fooled you all) and did anyone notice a person that asked me if I wrote this in 2004? Ok person, when did you think I wrote this? 1897? DUH I WROTE IT NOW! If I wrote it before I'd be putting up chap everyday. So yeah, every time you read a chapter I'm typing and thinking of a new one. There, I answered your question. Please keep reading. I make fun of everyone. (Looks to funkmaster and makes fun of him for no particular reason)

Next subject. Just to tell y'all "COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET" means admitting you are gay. So have fun with that one.

And oh, you all knew it was coming. You all knew Kage was going to say something like that at some point. (Sigh) How I love him…


	25. Chapter 25

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 25

The trip across the grasslands was much more amusing once Kage and Ero started talking to each other again. The rabbit spiritualist was blabbing on about this one time when Kage, Meep, and him first went to on of the "normal cities" in Acorn and the adventures they had there. Ero, of course, was the one talking the most, but Kage would diss his friend or the Chao at anytime possible. The story was quite a funny one, but I was more noticing not only the relief in Ero's eyes, but everyone else's also.

"Well, Ero told, "Little did I know when we found Kage he had found a cute-little-fox girl." The rabbit grinned as Kage's cheek turned a slight reddish color. "I think he name was Fayre or something. But anyway, everyone here knows how much of a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch Kage is, right? Well, he just had to tell her she was fat and WHAMP! a smack right across his face. I've never seen a girl so mad in my life!"

"Well," Kage said quickly in his defense, "I've never been a lady person."

"We all know ---------------------- Holy shit!"

We looked beyond at to the city of Fall Tip, which we didn't even notice was coming up. But there was a slight problem. The village was in ruin. No buildings stood, but instead covered the streets as mold and rubble. The grey debris was mixed with black burn marks. The town must have been burnt like Descentmet. Did Hatsu even know that their coastal city was gone?

"Well, this was unexpected huh?" Kage asked dully.

Amy sighed, "Shut up, Kage."

The black kitsune ignored her and walked up the rubble, stopping when he was on the top of the first mound. We slowly followed him up and the sight we saw once we were beside him wasn't so pretty.

The heads of the villagers of Fall Tip were stuck on stakes. Blood from where they were beheaded rolled down the wooden poles, staining them red forever more. No bodies were found above the rubble. It seemed as though the murderers bought the heads up themselves to set up a display. The eyes upon the heads that had not had their pupils scooped out laid open, some staring at us, some staring at the cloudless blue sky above. Some even had half a neck from a quick beheading, but others were guillotined with perfection.

"Is this how they bury people in the 'normal cities'," Molly asked as she stared at the heads emotionless.

Amy patted her on the head, "No."

Kage walked down the mound and began to search for something under the wreckage.

I looked beyond the heads before I followed the rest down the mound to find a building that was still halfway standing. On it, written in blood, was **SHIKYO**. I heaved a sigh, I should have figured. But my question was why Hatsu? Why attack Hatsu first? Sure, the city of Descentmet _used _to be here, but she got her revenge on the Watchers.

My thinking was cut short when I heard Kage cry, "All right! Chips!"

I looked over to find that Kage had found a small bag of unopened Lays Chips under the rubble and seemed quiet happy with himself. He leaned up against on the stakes and began to eat the newfound food.

Amy looked at him in appall, "How can you be eating right now?! We're surrounded by heads! Heads! You are the most disgusting person I have ever met!"

"Great," Kage said while plopping a crispy yellow chip in his mouth. His voice was in a tone that told her that he really didn't care what she thought of him.

I could tell that Amy wanted one of us to stand up against the black kitsune, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The happier he was the better and then there's the lingering fact that he could kill us at anytime. I sat down next to him and he handed me a chip. Nothing has ever tasted that good in my mouth.

"Well, Fall Tip is destroyed, so the only way to get over to Acorn is fly," Ero said. "Sorry Kage, but you're going to have to carry me."

"No I won't," He opposed while chewing on one of the many chips in the bag. "We'll find a ship."

"Did you just hear what I said?" Ero asked slight anger in his voice. "This city is destroyed! The ships too!"

He groaned, "It's calling 'checking', crazy guy."

"Don't... call... me.... that!"

Kage merely shrugged.

"We'll look for a ship," the rabbit said in exasperation.

Kage stood up rather proud of himself as he tossed the empty Lays bag right onto one of the many dead heads that surrounded the area. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He motioned us forward as he began his trek through the maze of stakes and heads. We followed as closely behind as we could.

See, before this adventure involving Shikyo and everything, I had only been to Hatsu once. It wasn't a vacation or anything but instead a journey through Cat Country, which is located on the far East side of the country. We were on a quest trying to stop Robotnick – now known as the deceased Eggman - and happened to pass through. But while we were there Sonic told me that he had once been to the harbor town Fall Tip before Robotnick came in all his madness and fury and he told me how beautiful of a town it was. But now the beautiful coastal city is destroyed and lies in ruin.

We continued hiking across the wreckage of the city and around the bloody stakes. I noticed that everyone noticed the blood letters looming over the village, but no one pointed it out.

It took a while to walk over all the debris without stepping on something sharp or bloody, but finally we had arrived at our destination: The Docks.

The port was not in good shape, but better than Fall Tip itself. Most of the docks that anchored the boats had been burned and the buildings around it were burnt to the ground. Most of the ships that were there were only half floating; the other half plunged deep into the bay.

"Meep!" Meep cried.

Kage looked up to him. "What?"

The Chao flipped in the air and flew off down to the docks and started to go across a path that was not destroyed. We pursued as quickly as we could. We ran passed on of the derelict ships to find a one in decent shape behind it.

"Good job, Meep," Kage congratulated.

"Meep win!" Meep cheered, throwing his paw-like hands up into the air.

Amy didn't seem too happy as we were boarding the ship. "Umm, Kage, sorry to break it to ya and everything, but... I don't think it's going to run..."

"What do you mean?" The black kitsune asked in pure curiosity.

The pink hedgehog made her way to the back of the boat and pointed to the engine. "This is busted. There's no way its going to work."

"Course it will," he snickered, "you just need a little bit of," he clicked his fingers, "magic!"

The motor immediately kicked on the boat was fully activated.

"Yeah, yeah, that was cool," Amy said infuriated even though I could tell his was daunted, "but now you got to drive the thing!"

"No I don't." He looked over to his partner, "Meep, take the wheel!"

"What!?!" Ero cried. He immediately pushed the Chao out of the way and grabbed the wheel. "That dip-shit will bring death to us all! I'm driving."

Meep didn't seem too happy with the comment, but contained his antagonism.

"Can I ask you guys something?" I asked as the boat began to move out from the bay and into the open sea.

"What?"

"Kage, you have nicknames for all of us but yet... you call Meep... well, Meep."

Kage sighed, "Meep _is _his nickname. Duh!"

"What's his real name?"

The black kitsune thought for a moment and then turned to Ero, "Hey, crazy guy, do you know Meep's real name?"

Ero shrugged. "I don't know. And oh, don't call me 'crazy guy'."

"Ok, don't be pushy...................... crazy guy."

"I HEARD THAT!" The rabbit spiritualist cried.

As the two fought – Amy and Meep soon joining out of unknown reasons – I stared out into the ocean just hoping Ero knew the way to Acorn.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, don't kill me. I know this wasn't a very "serious" chapter – excluding the fact of the heads on the stakes – but I have a reason. I have been running a temp of 101 for the past like 2 or 3 days. I'm amazed I got this done.

Oh, speaking of getting this done, I got a funny story for y'all! Okay well, before I got my fever and everything I got on the computer at oh I don't know 8 o'clock or something. Well, my wireless mouse didn't work and I totally freaked. I was like "Holy shit! Without my mouse I can't write Darkest Before Dawn or listen to music or anything! AH! People are going to kill me!" My brother suggested using the downstairs computer to type, but it was my brother's idea and that computer sucks so I rejected it. But anyway, I tried everything – and I mean _everything _– to try to get this mouse to work. It was like a couple hours later and I was seriously in tears....... over a mouse. Yes, call me a cry-baby, but you would be crying too if your mouse stopped working. So I was in absolute tears and that's when my dad pulled me really close and whispered in my ear: "Kelsey.... did you ever think about changing the _batteries_?"

I did and yeah it works now obviously. Yes, so all you people out there that I have made fun of, this is your chance to make fun of me.

Oh and I have confession to make. (Glances around) Get in very close, children.... (Peeks around more) (Whispers) I don't know what's going to happen in any chapters after this one! I have no idea what's going to happen in Mura Mori or anything. I know nothing! Absolutely nothing! Nothing! But shsssh! Don't tell funkmaster! He'll get mad. (Realizes something) (Yells) Ah dammit! He's reading!

(Runs away) I'll try to think of the next chapter soon! BYE!


	26. Chapter 26

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 26

Tails' POV

The boat ride took the rest of the day and we easily cruised into the sunset. "Are we there yet?" Amy asked while staring intensely at her broken nails. I've never seen anyone so preoccupied about themselves in my entire life. If I was a girl, right now the least thing I would be worrying about is my nails.

"Ay! Land ho!" Ero cried, pointing at the plot of land that was slowly but surely emerging in the horizon.

I raced up to the front to set my sights at my home, Acorn. Finally, home. Well, kinda I guess. We weren't going to Knothole soon and anyway…. no one is in Knothole that I really care about right now. They're all with Shikyo…

"Eh, Kage, this boat idea was great and everything," Ero said uneasily as he stared at the black kitsune next to him, "but how are we going to dock this thing?"

"We don't!" Kage declared.

The rabbit gave him an infuriated glare, "What do you want me to do? Pull it up on the sandbar, idiot?"

"Yep."

A moment's hesitation, "Yes, captain."

The sandbar landing was not a good one. Not only does Ero have bad boat parking skills, but weird white stones, which I could not get a clear view of, covered the beach along with submerged rocks. We all went flying back when we hit the coastline and one of the many rocks on it, but after that the boat didn't move so… I guess we we're fine.

"Great idea," Ero muttered to the black kitsune next to him.

Kage only gave him a dirty look.

We all climbed out of the boat and hit the dirty beach with a thud. "Hey, that's not all that bad!" Kage said happily.

"Yeah," Amy muttered in annoyance, "except the fact that the _whole front of the boat _is ruined!"

Amy had a good point. The front of our transport was smashed in and made it pretty clear no one was going to be riding in it again anytime soon. "If you want to blame someone," Kage simply said, "blame Ero. _He _parked it." The rabbit hit him as a reply.

I stepped back from lack of balance and something cracked under my foot. I gradually lifted it to find that I had cracked what seemed to be a fish skeleton. I put my foot elsewhere and yet again something broke. Another fish frame. I glanced at the beach behind me to find an interesting sight. "Hey, is this beach usually covered with fish bones?"

They looked over to where I was pointing to find that the entire beach was sheltered in fish carcasses. It wasn't one kind of fish either. All sizes shattered the place. Way down the beach we could see one that apparently came from some sort of whale.

"Doesn't seem to be a great year for the fish, huh?" Ero asked.

Kage picked up one of the many corpses and examined it thoroughly, "Hm. This isn't from any oil spill or natural cause. It seems more like… they were stripped bare. Eaten." He pointed out that a small flab of meat hung off of it. "If toxic did this the meat would have been oily and more would probably be hanging from the fish, even if it has been washed up here a week or two."

"Eaten?" Amy asked in disgust. "By what?"

"Chameleons," a voice answered.

We looked up to find an old dog that had to be in his sixties at least. He was a tanish color with a white mustache and bread. He was wearing a blue captain's suit with a nifty sailor's cap to set it off. In his left hand he had a crane which had some sort of a mental spike on it and on his back was a bag.

"Well, what do you know," Kage said, "hey there, Swap-Deck!"

The dog immediately chucked his crane at the black kitsune screaming, "That's Captain Swap-Deck to ya, boy!" I was amazed to find Kage barely dodged the oncoming object. Swap-Deck rambled on, "Where ya been, boy! Ya worried not only me but Ero to death here the last 3 months! Finally I sent him to find ya me self! Ya better have a good explanation or I will have to break ya bones!"

Kage sneered, "It was business, OK? And anyway, who do you think you are? My old man?"

"I could if I wanted to!"

The black kitsune didn't seem to like the idea.

"But anyway," Swap-deck groaned and he walked to the boat and retrieved his crane, "one day bout a week or two ago these damn black chameleons started showing their faces round here in me parts and wreckin me beach." He motioned up to our boat. "And ya slackers aren't helpin!"

"Sorry, sir," I muttered, knowing that neither Kage nor Ero were going to apologize to him anytime soon. "But black chameleons, round here, really?"

"Show up and feast here everyday they do, the damn bastards!" the captain cried as he began to stick the mental spike on the end of his crane into some of the fish bones and dropping them into the bag. "Like to show em all a good fight me self, but there's hundreds of em round here sometimes. The walking bitches even kill every sailor that walks this beach cept for me. Six already in this past week, har, I tell ya, they're sick son-of-some-bitches!"

I sighed. I now know where Kage's cussing problem comes from.

"Gee," Ero said, looking over to Kage, "they're even here."

"Hmmm?" Swap-deck asked. "They over there in Hatsu too? Damn bastards!" He muttered a couple other things about the chameleons as he picked up some more fish bones. "I say they get the damn army to kill em all! That'll do the trick!"

"Let me ask you something," Kage said. I could tell he had an idea. Great, an idea, "do you happen to have the corpse of anyone that was killed by the chameleons."

"Most of the poor souls I turned over to the police, but one guy was too mauled up I buried him me self! Letting the family think he's missin and all."

The black kitsune nodded, "And where is this guy?"

"Gave him a proper burial right on the beach til my ship gets all repaired. Then I'm throwin him out into the sea where ever dead soul belongs."

"Perfect." Kage walked past us and headed across the coast. "Swap-deck, you got any cages?"

"Only shark-divin ones," he answered as we followed him, "what are you suggestin we do, boy?"

The black kitsune smirked, "I'm going to catch myself one."

"_What?_" Ero said immediately.

I could barely watch Kage's "brilliant" idea unfold. The captain and him had dug up the dead carcass of the mauled victim of the chameleons which at one time was a lemur, but now the black kitsune was taking his precious making the poor guy a mushy snack for his plan.

Amy gagged and looked to Captain Swap-deck, "Can I use your bathroom?"

He nodded, "Yes, deary, go inside the house and take a left. It should be the door on the right at the end."

"Thanks." She ran off with Molly in her arms.

Kage carefully began to cut his leg into small pieces with his sickle while humming a small song. Then he began to closely examine the head and called over to Ero, "Hammer!"

"Hammer?" Ero asked, his face getting more twisted than it already was, "What do you need a hammer for?"

"I need to smash the skull and get to the brains," the black kitsune responded as he began to crave out the eyes.

Ero grabbed him, "Ok, Kage, I think he's mashed up enough for the chameleons to notice." He pushed him away from the fish cutting table, "Now let's go get your hands washed before you get diseased or something."

Kage took a good look at his hands and licked his finger, "Hey, lemur blood tastes pretty good."

Ero hit him, "Come on!"

Swap-deck grabbed a bag and began to slowly pick up pieces of the body and drop it in the bag. Though I didn't want to help, I did to repay him for letting us stay the night at his house. He gave a glance at me and muttered, "Ay, kid, what would your name be, hm?"

"Miles," I answered.

"Miles, Miles," he nodded. "Kage is different though he acts all the same. Different glint in his eyes. Everything al right there, laddie?"

I smiled, "Do you want the bull-shit or the truth?" I quickly dropped the head into the bag and looked at my hands, which were bloody. Did Kage have to tear him up so badly? But then again, he was pretty bad to start out with….

"Truth would be nice."

"No. See, we're being… 'chased' I guess you can say," I told him.

"Chased? What would be chasin ya?"

I thought maybe I shouldn't tell him, but he deserved to know, "Shadow chameleons…."

His eyes fell on me as the last of the lemur was put into the rusty tan sack. He didn't seem mad, just worried. Then he glanced up to the starry night sky. "He," he chuckled, "I've known them two since they were youngins… The spiritualists round here use me beach to fish and the youngins come to play a lot. Most of em youngins would stay away from me, but Kage and Ero… they were willin to try me out, ya know…"

He sat kneeled down and began to tie the bag, "Gosh, I remember when Ero would have to hold Kage's hand to keep him up."

I snickered. That must be an interesting picture…

"Quite good friends they make even though Kage is a son-of-a-bitch all the time," he continued, not heeding my laugh, "when they were youngins they'd come round and help me fish when I was all by me self." He put the pack on the bloody table and shrugged, "Once they got older and all they stopped comin round these parts… though one of em would stop by for a booze once and a while. It was nice to know the two still membered me though they had lives now…

"But all-darn-it, I member bout two or three months go Ero came by looking all desperate and everythin, poor thing. Kage just ran off on em I guess. I kept a clear ay out for em, but the black kit never came round, so I let Ero there borrow one a me boats bout six weeks go to go find the bastard and bring em back before he does somethin stupid…" He wetted a towel and threw it to me to whip my hands off with. "Happy Ero found em you know, but I don't think the youngin should waste his time on em… I mean, I love Kage to death and everythin, but… he's too dense to realize anythin! Too dense to realize he hurt Ero and all… I think he should leave for good so the poor thin won't hafta worry bout em no more."

"Mr. Captain Swap-deck," I said, my voice much quieter than him, "Kage is a bastard, but…. I have a feeling he didn't leave without a reason. Sure, he acts like he doesn't care, but… I know he's really sorry he left."

He chuckled and patted me on the head, "Ya have a gift to see the good side of people, youngin… I envy you."

"This should do the trick," Kage said as he poured the remains of the lemur into the shark-diving cage. Kage, Swap-deck, Ero, and I were deep into the forest with flashlights by now as Kage and Swap-deck set up the trap.

"Everyone get in them trees now!" Swap-deck ordered.

We climbed one of the many oak trees and kept our eyes closely on the trap as the night darkened. I couldn't help but to wonder what Kage could possibly want with own of these mad creatures, but I guess I have no choice but to put my trust in him.

The trap went off.

"Bingo!" Kage cried. He jumped down from the tree sickle in hand and walked over to the cage. He shined the flashlight in it. "Got one!"

We carefully climbed down the tree unlike the black kitsune and walked over to find a very large black chameleon – about the size of a German Shepard - feasting on the lemur bits. It glared at us and sniffed the air with displeasure. "What do you want?" the thing asked.

We jumped back.

"Well," Kage muttered, "it talked. That's interesting."

Hello everyone welcome to the end of chapter 26! Thank you for bearing with me through this extra long chap and hope you enjoyed. So the chameleons talk… I didn't see that myself until I started typing 'We carefully climbed down the tree…' so yah.

Oh attention everyone! No need to fear, Kelsey's here with ideas! Yes, I got all of my twisted ideas for Mura Mori while (glances around) watching the Fairly Odd Parents. What? I'm still sick. Give me a break! I love that show!

So review now! Now! Buh bye till next time, readers!


	27. Chapter 27

**Darkest Before Dawn**

Chapter 27

Tails' POV

I found it quite baffling that the chameleon could even utter a word. I wouldn't think that Shikyo would let the creatures have such ability or even enough intelligence to do such a simple thing. The more perplexing thing was that the chameleon hadn't jumped at us in rage like the others to either bring us to our deaths or whisk us away to wherever Shikyo is hiding…

"Of course I talk! What did you think I did?" The chameleon asked with a strong aroma of annoyance in his voice. "Squeak like a bird?"

"Actually," I began, but the beast stopped me.

He tapped the cage bars, "Now can you guys could let me out, I have more important things to do than talk to you."

"Like what?" Kage asked bleakly.

"Figure out who the hell turned me into this!" The thing looked at himself in discomfort and took a bite out of the lemur's arm, the wrist and hand still attached. Eh, what a weird --- wait.

I took a step closer to examine him better, "You mean… you don't know how you ended up like this?"

The chameleon began to play with the arm he was eating, but I could tell he was in serious thought. Finally he answered, "Some pink hedgehog chick… fox tails… blood red eyes… completely nuts…"

"What you are here is a victim of a spiritualist priestess called Shikyo," the black kitsune said. He kneeled down to the lizard's height and got as close to the cage as possible. He muttered, "Would you happen to know where this 'nuts' hedgehog would be…?"

"… Yes, actually… She's ------------------------"

The hand on the arm the chameleon was eating unexpectedly came to life and garbed the beast by the neck and began to asphyxiate him. Kage jumped back from the pen in surprise. The once midnight colored lizard began to go a dull rusty black shade. He tried to pull the noxious arm away from him, but the grip was too burly. His red eyes began to bulge out of his sockets and white bubbles and blood began to foam around his mouth. His neck suddenly cracked, ending his life. His head laid on his shoulder.

The lemur arm released itself and flopped onto the mental floor lifeless once more. The forest became completely hushed when the sound of the lizard choking had been silenced by his death.

"Interesting…" Kage mumbled to himself.

Swap-deck glanced at him, "Go on…"

The black kitsune began, "The chameleons are vassals – or slaves if you must call them – of Shikyo. They carry out her every command as precisely and as perfectly as mortally possible. But yet what we just witnessed was a lizard that not only could unusually talk, but also did not even know his own master by heart… Not what I was expecting."

"So summing it up," I said, "the chameleons are not always under Shikyo's control… right?"

"Good job, runt. You win _nothing_."

I sighed, "Thanks, Kage."

Ero seemed confused about the entire situation, "So you two are saying that when these things aren't possessed by Shikyo they don't even know who turned them into what they are or anything?"

"That's what it seems…"

"Shikyo…?" Swap-deck asked. "Who would be this 'Shikyo' y'all speakin bout?"

I chuckled, "You don't want to know."

Kage patted the captain on the shoulder and walked passed us and started into the darkness of the forest, "Better if you didn't know, Swap-deck. Just forget the name, would ya?"

It was hard to stay awake that night. Not that I was particularly sleepy – amazingly enough – but the fact that Swap-deck kept telling Kage and I to hit the sack. Most of the time we ignored him and poured ourselves another cup of coffee, but finally Kage yelled at him and he slipped into bed like the rest of the crew.

But soon morning came in all of its glory battling the night and won. The sun laid on the horizon just awakening and light spread throughout the beach and into the shack Swap-deck considered home.

I sipped the last bit of my coffee and sighed. I wish we could stay at least another day and have an actual day of relaxation, but Kage and Ero were already packing the bags up tight.

"If we don't stop for a break," Kage told us while trying to stuff a lantern in the pack, "we should get to Mori Mura around noon." He then glared straight at Amy, who was eating a piece of buttered toast. "But I don't think that will happen…"

Amy wasn't happy with the glare and shot a dirty look back at him, "Why are you staring at me, Mr. Let's-Follow-Some-Random-Foot-Tracks! There is no way that _I_, Amy Rose, would hold us back!"

(See Chapter 15)

The black kitsune cleared his throat as though he was going to say something very important, but suddenly started to do a prissy girl voice to make fun of the pink hedgehog, "Oh no, I broke a nail! Oh no! We have to stop now --------!"

By then Amy had smacked him right across the face. I tried hard not to laugh at the voiceover Kage did or his confused face as Amy stomped out of the kitchen and into the main hallway with a slam of the door.

"What's wrong with her?" Kage asked Ero in pure – not sarcastic – puzzlement.

The rabbit just patted his head and went on to a different subject, "we're about ready to head out, but first…" He glanced around the room looking for something. "Where's Swap-deck?"

We all jumped when we heard a piercing scream from down the hall.

"What the hell?" Ero question, standing up from packing the bag.

The sickle immediately appeared in Kage's hand as he stood up also, "Action is better than words…"

A cry for help filled our ears as we rushed through the door and into the rather large hallway that connected to the front room and the living room to find Amy barely dodging what seemed to be a… large fishing hook…? She fell into Kage, who block the weapon with the staff of his blade.

The hook did not fling back as intended. Instead the fishing wire rapped itself around the sickle, slipping it out of Kage's hands before he could do a thing about it.

I took a look around the room just to be filled with perplexity. We were the only ones in the foyer… but then where did the hook come from? We saw the sickle go down the hallway, but it literally vanished before our eyes.

But soon before our eyes out of a room came Swap-deck.

The captain stood with a large fishing pole in one hand and Kage's sickle in the other. The fishing pole was bigger than most and the hook was about the same size. The hook was stained with blood as was the fishing pole in use. His eyes were bloodshot – his pupils dilated. White foam covered around his mouth as blood dripped from his forehead and hands. His smile was evil, his body appearance and tiny chuckles made it a face he was utterly under Shikyo.

Swap-deck tossed the sickle back into the wall behind him and lashed his hook down like a whip, making a hole in his oak wooden floor. "This is the end of the line… YOU ARE ALL SHIKYO'S!" He hurled his self at us at a speed I never thought was possible for a bulldog his size.

We all dodged his launching assault and landed on the countless items that laid around the floor. I immediately drew the sword in my possession and chucked its handle into the kitchen as quickly as I could. I ran at him, blade ready, in hopes of cutting his side as he desperately fought against Ero, who was getting close to slicing him in half with his axe.

A wire suddenly rapped around the handle of the sword though and jerked at it, trying to get it out of my hands. I held on as tightly as I could. I flew into the wall when Swap-deck swirled the fishing rod around and had to let go of the sword.

The sword whipped around through the air with the line and hit the ground on the other side of the room. The hook and line released itself and Kage instantly grabbed the blade. Swap-deck noticed and hit Ero with a nice punch in the stomach and retreated to casting the line at Kage.

Instead of hooking the weapon once more, the hook went through the blade and broke it into two separate pieces.

The black kitsune was instantaneously ticked. "Okay, I was mad when you took my precious sickle, but now you broke my sword! That was a gift! You're going down!"

He jumped over to the book shelf and picked a random book. He opened it to the middle hand held the binding with his right hand. His left hand hovered barely above the pages as he muttered something.

Swap-deck laughed at him for the weird book trick he was doing. "This is no time to be reading, black kitsune! You should be fearing for your life!"

Ero gathered himself together and stared at his friend somewhat wan. No one exactly knew what he was doing.

"I win," Kage smirked.

Suddenly, the pages ripped out of the book on their own and flew towards Swap-deck on their own accord. Before the bulldog had anytime to react, the paper shredded through him like a knife would an apple and he fell to the ground with slits covering his bloody corpse. The pages from the book smacked into the wall and landed to the ground – the words gone only to be replaced by Swap-deck's bright red fluids.

Kage gave the bulldog captain and slight bow and slammed the book closed and held it by the binding in his left hand. While glancing over at Ero, who was about to cry, he muttered, "We better get going…" He turned and swiftly walked to the kitchen.

On his way into the kitchen, his sickle flew over to him in mid-air and he caught it in his right hand.

Ero carefully patted the sand on top of the small grave we had made for Swap-deck in the early morning sun. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and stood up, "I know he would have wanted to be buried in the ocean, but… this is the best I could do."

Amy and I nodded.

The rabbit began to crave something in the sand while muttering a tune that was foreign to me… it some-what went like this:

_Red moon, red moon._

_Cleanses the sinful and makes them anew_

_Shining brightly in the night sky_

_Waiting for the souls_

_Who will be born again tonight?_

_Who will be born again tonight?_

He gave one more gracious bow and looked over to Kage, who was far away sitting on a wooden pole on the dock by the captain's house. His sickle was still with him as the staff of it leaned up against his shoulder and the blade faced away from him high in the air. His head was bowed, his eyes closed, his hands folding and he seemed to be whispering something. Meep seemed to be doing the same thing on his head.

"So," Amy asked softly, "are you and Kage at an all-out war now?"

Ero gave out a chuckled, "No, no…" He looked back to his friend that was seated far away. "It had to be done… There was nothing we could do to prevent it." He started into a speech while staring down at the sand grave. "Sometimes we don't understand how things like this happen, but they do every so often… You find yourself thinking, 'what could I have done to save him…? Could I have prevented all of this…?' But, truly, in the end, fate is fate. And you can't defeat it."

As we stood silently, Ero walked over to the bag and put it on his back. "Kage, Meep! Let's go!"

Kage looked up rather surprised the rabbit was talking to him, but nodded, "Right!"

And we headed off into the forest… leaving the carcass of Swap-deck behind us.

Wow, geez! I'm sorry this took so long everyone! I just couldn't think of anything for the fight with Swap-deck but (chills come up my back) I absolutely adore that tearing book pages thing! I so wish I could do that!

Yah, well everyone laugh at me. I returned to school on August 13. (Hangs head) It sucks! My teachers are nice though, so that's good.

Oh I gotta tell you something… (whispers) if you live around Indiana, keep a low profile about this story. See, well, I live in Indiana and… my mom lives here too. Why my mom? Well, she kinda… sorta… ok she told me to stop writing this book about… (thinks) 23 chapters ago? Yah, that sounds about right. So, shhhhh!

My mom doesn't like it because of the fact that everyone goes insane and there's so much blood. So much blood, so little time… (whoever said that in a review is seriously cool! Blood! WAHOO!)

I'll try to have the next chapter up by Tuesday the 23rd. See y'all! (Does hick dance)


	28. Chapter 28

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 28

Tails' POV

We trudged through the forest as the sun was at its height. We had left the beach and the corpse of Swap-deck behind at least three or four hours ago and startlingly we haven't stopped yet though Amy told us to slow down once or twice.

Molly tugged on Kage's arm, "Mr. Kage!"

Kage glanced down at her exasperated, "What?"

"When are we going to be there?" The small bunny asked with big blue eyes totally ignoring his provocation.

The black kitsune looked around and seemed to have remembered something from the forest, "We'll be there in a couple of minutes really…" He looked back to us, "Listen up, though Mori Mura is probably the most evolved spiritualist city and accepts outsiders to visit doesn't mean were staying long." He looked ahead. "To tell the truth I want to stay here as least as possible, got it?"

We all nodded but I could tell Ero wasn't pleased about the words slipping from Kage's lips.

Mori Mura was gorgeous. Though much smaller than Descentmet, the town had a cozy feeling and the structure of it was magnificent. The houses were mostly white brick with tanish-brown roofs and the homes were lined with vines. Not many houses were here, nor people. I was expected the town to be a little larger, but in the end it couldn't have more than a population of four-hundred people unless there was some foundation behind the trees that I could not see.

I then found that a large Japanese-like shrine was at the end of the row of dwellings and stretched into the darkness of the wood branches and beyond. That's probably where that 'Grand Elder' Kage and Ero were talking about lives.

Kage immediately began to rush us down the main road and towards the colossal shine standing ahead. It was almost as if he was avoiding the eye-contact of the rest of the villagers. Ero grunted, "Kage, are you trying to avoid everyone?"

"No," he slowly answered, but his pace only sped up.

"If you are its not working," the rabbit informed him.

"Yes it is, you just don't realize it!"

Ero muttered, "Oh, I realize it…"

The black kitsune tried to his friend and flicked him on the nose, "You know what? Shut up, crazy guy! Nobody likes you!"

The rabbit only sighed.

As we were walking passed a small market selling freshly cut flowers, I noticed a particular grayish-brown cat wearing a tan cloak staring at us. His brown eyes told me that he was somewhat surprised to see us all walking swiftly through the town, but yet he seemed to have known it was going to happen the entire time.

Our eyes made contact. I looked away.

We jogged up the shrine stairs and Kage slid open the door and swooped in without even knocking. Ero knocked a couple times to let someone in the temple know they were arriving and walked in after his friend. We followed closely.

The inside of the temple was beautifully decorated. The walls were made out of a sturdy maple wood that was craved so that you could get it and bamboo confused. Elegant candles were mounted on golden holders on the walls to light the large palace-like house up during the night.

Kage seemed to know exactly where he was going. We turned and twisted through the house until he slid open one of the many doors and yelled, "Gramps!"

Ero didn't seem too happy with the black kitsune's entrance, "Have some respect!" He tried to bonk him on the head, but missed.

I peeked in the door to find that sitting on a pillow in a robe was an old – and I mean old – tiger who smiled amiably when his little eyes landed on Kage, "Welcome back, Kage…" He seemed to be used to Kage's sarcastic-ness.

The black kitsune ignored the welcome and leaned over to Ero, "Well, he's still alive… I guess that's a good thing."

"What?" The tiger asked.

"Nothing!" Ero immediately stuttered. "We always thought you were in good health, Milord!" He bowed in respect.

The Grand Elder muttered something under his breath and his eyes landed on Amy, Molly, and I, "Well, hello there. Welcome to Mori Mura."

Yeah, the people hear are definitely nicer than the ones in Descentmet.

Ero began to explain how Descentmet was taken down by shadow chameleons and how the Watchers had died and said stuff amongst other things, but he left out everything about Kage completely. Left out the mental hospital, going insane, matters like that. He heard about Shikyo though…

The Grand Elder sighed, "This is very bad news indeed…"

"What did you do, kitsune?" A voice asked immediately.

We glanced back to find the grayish-brown cat that I saw earlier standing in the doorway glaring at Kage directly. By his side was a tan cat wearing a maid outfit with big blue eyes. A smile was planted on her face unlike the other cat, who could not be frowning more.

"Hi, Nekosa," Kage grumbled.

"Kage!" The tan cat gave out a cry and hugged him. She looked up at Nekosa and stuck his tongue out at him, "J'adore Kage! Je desteste Nekosa fore desteste Kage! Je desteste tu!"

"Don't be stupid," Nekosa said, pulling her off though he didn't realize he was helping Kage in the long run. "Why don't you go out and do something! This is a conversation in _English_!"

"NO!" She cried. "J'adore la anglies! Je copie la anglies!"

I blinked. And what language was she speaking in?

Nekosa ignored the girl and looked back to Kage, "What are you doing back here anyway? I thought you said you weren't coming back!"

Kage tried his best not to notice the sudden fire in Ero's eyes. "I just have a question for the Grand Elder, thank you. So why don't you and French Girl get outta here, Ass-Cat."

"Je mapplies no 'French Girl'!" She cried. "Je mapplies Nicole!"

"Whatever."

I noted that the Grand Elder didn't seem to like all the fighting going on in his chambers, "What is your question, Kage?"

Kage whipped around to look at him, "I need you to help me find someone."

"This is going to be interesting," Nekosa sighed.

Kage shot a death glare at him.

"Who is this someone…?" The Elder seemed more attracted to the entire conversation going on now.

Kage took a deep breath and said, "Keita Akihiro Hanari."

Nekosa instantaneously began to crack up. "Keita has been died for three years, kitsune! How stupid are you?"

Nicole slapped him. "Kage no stupide!"

The Grand Elder was not laughing at all. Instead his face was pale as he stared at us now. It was almost like he… knew something. "No, Nekosa… Keita is not dead…"

Nekosa cut off his laughing and now the room was completely quiet.

"To tell the truth…" The Elder said, "He's here right now."

Bonjour! Ca va? Super! J'adore la anglies an la glace! Je desteste Shikyo an tu!

Sorry. See, I know French! I might have spelled a couple things wrong but that's not the point. I'M SO SORRY! I meant to have this chapter up by the 23rd! But oh well, what's done is done.

(Deep breathe) Mori Mura will probably – 10 to 1 – have the most twists in the entire story plot. 1) Because I want it to 2) Its somewhat close to the end – somewhat. Well, I definitely know it's passed the middle as of now so… yeah.

Since this fact is so true and everything, I need you to **pay attention to very single detail of each chapter** cuz I definitely know you haven't been. How do I know? He, why tell you. But truly, if you need to read the freakin chapter again to remember the information FINE! You will need it. Should that be bold? Yah: **You will need it.**

I know in one chapter I will get into great detail about which place each character sits around the table. You're probably like "what the hell?" but I will! It's important and I'll try to remind you to **memorize the seating order **in that chapter, but I'll probably forget so… be on your guard.

So pay attention to very single detail of each chapter. You will need it.

Going on! Ok, I have no idea when the next chapter is going to get out and I'm not going to give you a date cuz I was like freaking out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday that I didn't have the chapter done. So no more dates. Umm, gosh, well there are a couple reasons why I'm not going to get it up for a while.

I have to go to Toledo, Ohio this weekend

It's going to be a long, long chapter (6-10 pages at the least)

I have a Language Arts teacher that likes to give us essays 24/7

And I might be lazy…

So don't expect it up until late next week… I'm not telling you a date…

REVIEW!


	29. Chapter 29

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 29

Tails' POV

We walked down the narrow hallways in utter squelched. It almost felt like the air was lifeless as we got into the small chambers with no windows and barely any candles lightly the path. A while ago we have gone through a trap door that looked scarcely used and now were in the deeps of the secret tunnel of the shrine.

I couldn't believe he was here. Keita – alive, in color… It seemed strange for me to be meeting someone I have only seen in my dreams, thought was dead for at least 2 or 3 weeks, but excitement still filled me. Finally, maybe all the questions would be answered. But, I still had doubt… I did see him still follow Shikyo after she told him her mad plan. I didn't know exactly what to expect.

I shivered. It was cold here, maybe a bit too cold really. If a person lived in here they would get seriously chilled and die at some point. Maybe his room was warmed – who knows.

I glanced up at Kage to find his pace quickening. He seemed pretty eager to see the 10th Watcher too. Shikyo did like to boast about the tenth Watcher a lot, so the black kitsune probably has heard about him longer than I have.

Ero didn't seem to want to be here at all. He stared down at the dark wooden floor deep in thinking. I could tell that he was still mad about Kage telling Nekosa about him leaving 3 months ago and not him.

Nekosa and the French cat, Nicole, had also come along. The gray cat walked with a sort of a slouch behind us as he stuffed his hands into his pockets as the tan cat swirled around and looked around in wonderment though you could hardly see anything.

Meep was sitting on Kage's head as keen as his master was. He waved his arms around in the air blissfully as he flapped his wings though not planning to take flight anytime soon.

Amy had Molly on her back whispering to her after the comment "I'm afraid of the dark" came from the 6-year-old's mouth earlier on.

The Grand Elder was leading us with a long candle in his hand and seemed awfully pale. He was very old, of course, but he seemed too wan even for his ancient age. Something was still wrong… he had let out that Keita was alive, but he was still too tense for my taste.

We stopped at a chambered door at the end of the long hallway. The Elder looked back at us wondering if he should open the door or not, but was soon unlatching all the locks.

Locks? On the outside? Why?

I could tell everyone in the group was baffled as he continued to disengage the chained door. Maybe the kitsune wanted plenty of solitude… but wouldn't he want the locks on the _inside _of the door?

The door after at least two minutes was finally open. The Grand Elder led us in.

When we walked in, I swear everyone gagged.

The room was lighted like any other room in the shrine before the trapdoor and the room itself was quite fine, but what sat in the middle of the room is what made us completely sick.

Keita sat there completely lifeless. His eyes – or should I say left eye – was blank, the pupil completely rolled to the back of his head as the right sought had no eyeball, but still was as wide open. He had no fur, but instead was burned from head to toe. He was a crisp brown and a shade of black ash covered him. One of his tails was just burnt skin, but the other was raw bone. His left hand only contained two fingers and his other hand had shorter fingers than a normal kitsune his size would. Though you would think he was dead, he was swaying slightly mumbling unintelligently – words could not be made out. He was a nauseating sight to see, though pitiful.

I covered my mouth when I felt something coming up from my throat. I inhaled deeply and tried to take my sight off of him, but my vision didn't seem to want to.

Kage left immediately.

The rabbit spiritualist took a glance at the burnt kitsune and then to the gloom behind him. He rushed after his friend.

Nicole was going to follow them, but Nekosa stopped her and whispered something in French in her ear. She looked back at the… thing… in the middle of the room and then buried her face into him.

Amy had Molly's eyes covered as she stared blankly just as I did. She was shaking tremendously as tears filled her eyes.

That's when I notice Meep was gone too. Must be with Kage.

The Grand Elder sighed, closing his eyes slowly and turned away. "This… is why I never told anyone…" And he left into the darkness slowly, leaving us there alone.

I jumped when I heard Shikyo's voice in my head, Tsk, tsk, stupid Keita… it's _his_ fault he's like that… Though pity was in her voice, she did not seem sad at all.

'Shut up!' I told her. I really didn't want to deal with her right now.

She never replied.

I looked around and noted that no one else left though Amy had turned the little girl entirely around to stare at the wall. Nekosa, who was tightly hugging the crying Nicole, gave a short bow to the figure in front of us and his cold eyes didn't seem to have any emotion about the situation.

'Keita,' I muttered in my mind. Though the room was freezing, I felt searing… I understood now why the hallway had been so bitter. I took a step foreword with caution. I ducked a little as I took my next step towards him to get eye level with him.

He didn't notice we were there.

After a minute or two of moving near him, I was finally close enough for my own comfort. About arms length to tell the truth. I saw down the same way he was sitting (bottom of the legs folded under and hands on his upper part of his legs) and listened carefully to what he was muttering.

I still couldn't understand. It was too hazy. But soon enough I realized he was not grumbling anything at all. It was more like a… tune. Each note was delayed by at least five to ten seconds, but I soon put together the musical puzzle.

It was Nightingale.

Of course. I should have known. I chuckled – at least he still had a mind. I glanced up from my hands and to him when I noticed he stopped humming the song. I quickly found that his hand was raising, his elbow bent, and soon stopped going up when it aligned with his shoulder.

I hesitated, but then put my palm to his. His skin felt crispy and dry. By now I was able to stare straight at his face. He did not raise his head to look at me, but instead his head was hanging.

But unexpectedly he swiftly stared straight into my eyes with his one eyed gaze. He hissed, "Kill her!"

I scooted back in fright from the sudden remark from the lifeless corpse. My sight began to become hazy as I fell onto my back. Soon I was out cold.

V I S I O N

_"A fire?" a voice asked._

_I awoke in a room to find Keita and Fujiro sitting on pillows sipping tea. Fujiro had a strike of surprise across his face as he stared at one of his nine partners. Keita seemed serious. Too serious really. _

_The kitsune simply took a sip of his tea, "Yes. A fire should do it." _

_Fujiro's cup was shaking in his hand, "But I don't get it, Keita, you love this girl and now you are trying to burn her? Why?" _

_"She…" he began but stopped for a quick second in reflection. "She is mad, Fujiro… she crossed the line when she… well, did something to one of my very good friends…" _

_"And who is this very good friend?" _

_Keita looked up at him, "My business." _

_"Of course, of course…" Fujiro set down his cup and picked up a pipe from the legless table separating them and lit it. He puffed it while in thought, "So you want us to set your house on fire during the middle of the night? But wouldn't she suspect it? I mean, you being suddenly gone and everything?" _

_The tenth Watcher chuckled at his friend's questions, "But, Fujiro, you don't understand… I _won't _be gone. I'll be," he took another sip, "here." _

_Fujiro's perplexity returned to him, "What are you going to do? Escape during the fire? Keita, even in your skill, that is quite impossible. Our fires insure certain isolation – there is no escape…"_

_"No," the kitsune answered._

_This is when the founder of the Watchers realized what was happening, "Don't tell me you're going to burn alive with her!" _

_"Exactly." _

_Fujiro stood up totally discarding his pipe, "Keita, you've gone mad!" _

_The kitsune shrugged, ignoring his friend's outrage and continued with his tea normally, "Maybe." _

_The Watcher stood there staring down at the kitsune in shock while breathing heavily. Keita was probably the most nature loving of the Watchers and the one that respected life the most, but now he was throwing away his life because of this girl._

_"I won't allow it!" Fujiro yelled._

_"Of course you will." Keita looked up to him. "I'll force you to allow it if I seriously have to. Now the fire will be tomorrow night at one – its tomorrow just because I'm sending my friend back to Mori Mura tonight… I hope to see a fire then." _

_He stood up swiftly and left the room with his tea still in his hand, leaving Fujiro alone. The Watcher shook his head. This can't be happening. _

_"Mr. Fujiro?" _

_He looked down to find Ai standing next to him._

_She cooed, "You seem worried… is anything wrong?" _

_He was about to tell her everything, but then decided that he must do what he must do. "No. Nothing at all." He left the room._

_ Tomorrow at 1 A.M. he must burn this house with all of its inhabitants inside._

R E A L I T Y

Ero's POV

Unexpected rain poured from the black clouds above as lightning reined through the sky. I hurried through the forest looking for Kage… he had run far. I was at least a mile from the city, and I had a tiny idea about where the kitsune could have gone.

The cross. He built it out here when he was fourteen and if he's not at the city training he was at the cross… he had to be there!

_Kage, Kage, Kage_, a voice muttered in my head.

I jolted up.

_It's _his_ fault! _He _killed him!_ It told me.

I was confused. What was talking to me? Could it actually be the voice that Kage has been hassling with? I shook it out of my mind and continued my hunt. My foot got stuck in a puddle of mud and it took me a while to pull it out, but I noticed something in front of me.

Blood.

The rain was washing it deep into the trees, but the path still had clear signs of it. I had an idea, but I quickly discarded it… it couldn't be Kage. Why would it be Kage?

I began to travel faster despite the many mud holes I could get stuck in. The rain was like cannon balls falling from the sky as they hit the earth. The trees leaves rustled with the oncoming wind as some fell off because of the force of the rain drops.

_He should be punished _eternally, the voice told me. _Finally, after all this time, he is reminded who he really_ is!

'What are you talking about?' I cried.

Our conversation was cut off when from the distance I heard Kage cry, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOUR FORSAKEN ME!" and the screams of Meep.

"KAGE!" I stumbled in the mud and took off flying down the road though the rain hit me like pebbles. I skidded to a halt at the shrubs that separated the sanctuary and the small muck road and began to pull them apart rapidly.

I was about through the bushes when I saw him.

He was leaned up against the oak-made large cross facing me. Meep was on the back of his hand trying to get something from him that I could not make out. The kitsune coughed from the cold he probably got from running in the rain. "WHY ARE YOU SO FAR FROM SAVING ME?" He took the object in his hand and began to slice into his arm with it. Meep bawled.

"KAGE!" I fell through the underbrush and ran to him before he could cut himself again. I pushed him closer to the cross and moved his arm with now what I could see was a butcher's knife totally away from him. His grip on the blade did not cease as we stared into each other's eyes. "What… are… you doing…?"

He didn't answer.

I looked down at his other arm that I was holding to find twelve slash marks going crookedly across his black and red fur. The rain poured into the wounds cleaning out the blood that gushed down to the ground. He had something in his hand which he was clenching tighter than the knife in his other.

_Leave him_, the voice said, _I won't let him die…_

I ignored her as I stared straight back into my friend's eyes. His red eyes swirled in pain and suffering held together by savagery. Tears rushed from them as he choked on his own saliva. I started again, "What… are… you doing?"

The grip of the knife and force he was putting into his arm to bring it to his other limb increased, "It's my fault…"

Things sped through my mind and I put some broken puzzle pieces together, "It's not your fault Keita is like that."

"Yes it is!" His arm escaped me, but I caught it just in time.

I noticed Meep was off him now and next to me bawling his eyes out. He didn't want to see him like this and neither did I… I took a deep breath in. It was Shikyo's fault. I had to blame someone and it has to be her…

Kage began to mutter, "I went… to his house… three years ago… he told me she was different… different than before… mad-like really… I still remember hiding in the trees when she told him what her dream world was like: 'One that is backwards… One where the sky is red and the flowers are dead. The cats are skinny, the rabbits are mad, and the evils of the world can live quite glad. Where everyone is waiting in fear while they slowly realize that the evil cannot be cured. And we can live happily on thrones while the inhabitants of this world think they're alone.'" He took a deep breath and coughed several times. He choked up blood. It landed on my forehead. "… we decided to… kill her… we had to… that night… I woke up to find her… in my bed… suddenly… and…" More coughs, more blood. "… Keita sent me… home immediately… and two days later… we got news… of his house… burning to the…. ground…"

_It's his fault!_ the voice cried.

Kage immediately responded and pushed his arm down with the knife. It was getting harder to keep the two away from each other.

Him knowing Keita didn't really come to my surprise. I had a feeling about it really since Descentmet… but my question was why didn't he explain about what happened then? Why did he blame the Watchers for the fire when…? Did someone tell him they did it and released him from his guilt maybe? I didn't know, but it was time to get serious. "Kage… drop the knife," I said clearly.

He just stared at me.

_You're efforts are stupid, rabbit! He won't listen to you!_

I didn't care, "Let… go of… the knife, Kage… I know it hurts and I know you feel torn, but you never gave up this easily before… drop… the fuckin… knife…"

I took my hand off his bleeding limb and to his cheek. I searched for words to say as I kept his sight on me and not on the knife. "Do… Do you really want to give this all away?" Tears came to my eyes as I pushed his arm with the blade down to the ground and put my knee on his hand so he couldn't raise it. I put my other hand on his other cheek to make sure he was directly staring at me. "Such a beautiful thing to throw away…" I remembered the days when we were younger before any such thing ever happened and chuckled through my snuffle. "Such a beautiful thing…"

The only sound for a while was our weeping and the rain beating against the objects around us. "Kage," I mumbled softly, "drop… the knife… please… just let… it…go…"

I heard the mental clonk to the mucky floor of the forest.

Meep cried with joy and hugged him happily. A weak smile formed on both of our faces as the Chao paraded around. I pulled the black kitsune close and into a tight hug. Something glittering had caught my eye. I looked down to find that Kage in his bleeding hand was holding an object loosely now.

It was a gold, though bloody, cross necklace.

I myself am not a 'Christian' as they call them, but Kage was a strong one. One day when we were in training about five years ago he went off on a search around the forest to find a herb for our Master and came back with the same cross necklace around his neck and a book he called a 'Bible' tightly in his hand. As I remembered, he read that everyday. He had even given it to me to read a couple times to read, but I never found the time… and in some ways never wanted to. The spiritualists weren't supposed to believe in a 'God' or a 'Christ'… even though I avoided the religion, I couldn't help to listen to the songs Kage would sing while walking through the forest or hum while reading a book. There was only one that I could memorize the first verse of… I wasn't a good singer, but I started into the song as best as I could:

_Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound_

_That saved a wretch like me_

_I once was lost, but now am found_

_Was blind, but now I see_

Kage only clutched onto me tighter.

We sat like that for what seemed like hours as the rain surged down on us. Soon I realized I had to get the black kitsune back to the town before he lost too much blood. That's when I noticed he was fast to sleep.

(Bawls) First off, I hate this chapter…. secondly, I just have a feeling someone is going to flame me for this… not because of Keita, not because of Kage, but putting the word "Christ" in here. I just know it. I would like to say that I am not forcing my religion on anyone whatsoever. So please don't stop reading for any of these reasons please!

All right, as for Kage cutting himself several times, do not blame me! Blame Shikyo! See, I just write this adventure on paper for you peeps, but they make the storyline. I only write, so… She did it. Kill her!

The only part I like of this entire chapter is this:

_I hesitated, but then put my palm to his. His skin felt crispy and dry. By now I was able to stare straight at his face. He did not raise his head to look at me, but instead his head was hanging. _

_But unexpectedly he swiftly stared straight into my eyes with his one eyed gaze. He hissed, "Kill her!"_

So yeah… review I guess… ummm…

Oh, don't repeat anything that happened in this chapter. I'm responsible for your lives… kinda… I need someone to read…

So yeah… review… (hides under desk waiting for flames)


	30. Chapter 30

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 30

Tails' POV

My head hurt so bad from my fall yesterday that I could barely lift it off the maple wood table. Though the fall was just from me tumbling over, the floor in that room was awfully hard. Maybe aspirin or headache relief would work… but then to my dismay I remembered the spiritualists don't trade with the outside world – meaning they don't have those simple pills. I fettled with my coffee cup like it was some sort of rocking toy as I waited for my meal to be ready.

We were staying at Ero's house, which is located about five minutes away from Mori Mura. It was a nice abode lined with white bricking and lush green vines like the other houses though it was twice the size. The kitchen itself was incredible. One of these homes in Knothole or Hatsu Kingdom would be worth millions. The cabinets and the table were made out of maple wood and the oven was a glass piece to hold the pan and a fire blazing under it. The floor was oak wood and as smooth as a sheet of ice.

"Tails, are you alright?" I heard a voice ask.

I looked up to find Amy sitting across from me with a worried expression on her face. It was almost just like the one that I had seen in Ms. Eagle's class when Shikyo first talked to me. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. "Head just hurts a little…"

I felt a hand go on my head and Nicole sighed, "Tu tete cabane?"

Turning to look up at her, I responded, "If that means my head hurts, yes."

"Oui," Amy said.

"Oui?" I asked.

"It's French for yes." She smiled smugly. "I'm taking French you know!"

I took a sip of my coffee and groaned, "I'll put that on my to-do-list…"

"Je guerir tu!" Nicole sighed with excitement. She placed both of her hands on my head and a blue light began to swirl around me as she chanted, "Guerir fo L'ouest, guerir la enfant fo lumiere, le ami fo noir kitsune."

My headache disappeared. I blinked. "Uh…" I looked to Amy and muttered, "Thank you?"

"Remercier," she replied.

I bowed to Nicole," Remercier!"

She took a good look at me and hugged me, "Tu mignon!"

Ero walked into the room with a relaxed but worried look on his face. He went over to the fire-powered oven and took a look at the eggs and toast. "Almost done…"

I had since the rabbit a couple times today, but the whereabouts of Kage and Meep were a mystery to me. I saw Meep earlier this morning with a big bag going somewhere, but I haven't seen the black kitsune since we saw Keita last night. The remembrance of the brunt kitsune took away my appetite. Ero cooked that food for me for nothing… I should eat it, but… my stomach growled in disgust. Keita was still lingering in my mind.

"The toast is ready," Ero yelped. He took a large plate off the "oven" and brought it over to the middle of the table. He looked around. "Where's Nekosa?"

"Il na pas venir!" Nicole explained.

"He's not coming," Amy told us.

Ero shrugged, "More for us." He sat down the plate. "I'll just bring over the butter and we can start." He walked over to one of the many counters and got the butter and opened a drawer to have a puzzled expression sweep over his face. "Where are my knives?" He began to search his other drawers, but didn't find any.

I heard a whistle come from Molly's head. The Chao sat on her with innocent looking eyes as he hummed away on an unknown song trying his best to ignore the rabbit who was now desperately throwing stuff out of his cabinets trying to find the sharp objects.

He slowly turned around to stare straight at Meep with a hating passion in his eyes. "Meep…" Next thing I know he's flicking the Chao off while screaming, "I told you to throw away _the _knife, not _all _the knives!"

Meep yelped and flew to the protection of Nicole.

_The _knife? What was Ero talking about? I glanced at the two mystified as the spiritualist rabbit seemed ready to strangulate the Chao's scrawny neck.

Ero sighed to cool down, "Ok, Meep… where did you bury the knives?"

More terror filled the Chao's eyes, "…. Volcano…"

"WHAT?" True hell now burned in his eyes as he lunged after the fleeting Meep. They began to go around the table several times, Ero catching up a little closer to Meep each roundabout.

That's when I noted Kage standing in the hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen and contained the front door. I tilted my head slightly to get a better look. He seemed… different. His red eyes were a dull crimson color now and I noticed a large cast was on his right arm with blood stains dotted in various places. "Ero…"

Ero stopped chasing the relieved Chao, who sat down on Amy's head, and for the first time I have ever seen the two talk to each other, Ero seemed to have his full attention on the black kitsune.

"I'm going out, OK," he muttered, glancing to the door and then looking back to the rabbit.

"I made breakfast," the rabbit showed the plate of toast. He didn't even mention anything about Meep throwing the knives into a volcano, which was unlike him. Usually he would rat the fuzz-ball out immediately so he could watch him get in trouble.

Kage shook his head, "I'm not hungry." And he left.

Ok, that was the first conversation I have ever seen the black kitsune have and not including a hint of sarcasm here and there. Something was wrong. Where did he get that cast from anyway? I started adding up the clues: knife, Kage, bloody arm… No, he couldn't of… did he try to kill himself? I shook the thought out of my head. Not Kage.

Ero sighed and sat down at the table while placing forks by the butter. "I guess we are going to have to use forks as knives," he said bleakly. He didn't even seem to be mad at Meep anymore and instead his mind was trailing off on an entirely different subject.

They began to eat (I made up the excuse that I had grabbed something early as a explanation for my sudden loss of appetite) and soon the table was filled with bacon and other things. As everyone ate, I noticed Ero whispered something into Meep's ear and the Chao flew out the kitchen window.

I stood up from my chair, "Ero."

He looked up at me. Though he had food on his plate, I took heed that he was not eating much, "Yes."

"I'm going to have a talk with the Grand Elder," I said quickly.

Before he could object or figure out I was fibbing I was out the door on a quest to find Kage.

The Great Forest was such a gorgeous place. Vast oak, maple, and pine trees sprouted towards the unseen sky as shrubs scurried across the dirt landscape. Wild flowers bloomed from the bushes and wild berries were shattered as far as the eye could see. I had been to the Great Forest one time before this, but it was by the city and a park – that fraction of it was nothing compared to what I was viewing now. I heard the sound of the leaves whistling as the breeze streamed through them, the chuckling of the playing squirrels, and the songs sung by the diverse types of birds that lingered at the treetops. The smell of chestnuts and flowers filled the lively air.

How great it must be to live in such a place! Though the spiritualists did not hold modern technology, they still knew exactly where to build their homes and how to take care of the wildlife surrounding their living quarters. I thought that Knothole was surrounded and hidden deep in the forest, but Mura Mori surpassed that. Maybe I could talk Sonic to move out here once everything was ok again.

Ok again… I wasn't sure if anything would fully be ok again once Shikyo's threat was stopped. And who knows… Shikyo may win. I batted the idea of that out of my head. There was no way her evil would triumph over us.

Right?

_My evil is more powerful than anything_, she told me with a matter-of-fact voice. _No one can escape me – _no one

'You're not perfect,' I snapped.

_Of course I am… things are going _exactly _how I want them to._ With a scoff she left me to think.

Man, I never realized how much of a bitch she was until now. Sure, I've always thought she was a bitch from day one, but she moved up five degrees higher than that when I set off on this 'journey of a lifetime' I guess you could say. I've never heard someone so full of herself – I cannot say seen because I have not physically met her yet – and she has brought the world to distinguish a new type of psychosis.

I took heed of a strange light up ahead. It was as though it was the end of the forest. Could I really be that close to the Mobian Badlands? I prayed Kage didn't run somewhere in there. It would take years to find him.

Instead I came out to a small cliff that reached towards the sky. It was so steep I could not see what it overlooked and directly connected to the blue and white that made the sky. And there sat the black kitsune.

Meep sat on his head as Kage was leaning over in a way it would seem like he was reading something which sat on the ground.

"Kage," I called, walking towards him.

He jumped in surprised and turned his head swiftly over his shoulder to find me. Meep barely stayed on. "Oh, hey, runt," he said quickly, pushing down his right arm that held the bloodstained cast.

"I've already seen the cast, Kage," I told him. He was one of the people I was not afraid to be straightforward to. I sat down next to him and took a good look at the case that he now showed freely. "How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times did you cut yourself?"

He gazed down at the case quite disturbed by my question. The expression in his eyes almost made me regret asking him – almost.

"Twelve," he answered dully.

I sighed in disenchantment, "Kage…." I stared at him with a look of not madness but a type of sternness I hope he will see meant for him to promise he won't do something like that again.

"I'm not going to do it again," the black kitsune said, looking back to his book, "it hurt like hell…"

There was a dead silence as I continued to stare at him with the same look.

He glimpsed back up at me. "What?"

"Promise?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I promise…"

I looked out over the cliff once the silence took over again. It overlooked hundreds of acres of forest that's green leaves shimmered in the sunlight. It was a magnificent sight to behold. "It's beautiful," I muttered more to myself than Kage.

"Yeah," he answered, barely glancing up from his book.

There was more awkward silence. I was expecting Kage to make a sarcastic remark or Meep to start singing, but there was no noise except for the shrilling of the gentle wind that had picked up just a bit after I had sat down. It was strong enough to flow through my hair and make a difference. The question I wanted to ask him was caught in my throat and dared not to scramble out my mouth. I was more afraid of how he would react to the question than what his answer would be. I already knew why Kage was in this Shikyo situation… it was because she /believed it was his fault Keita set the fire on her and himself and probably the fact that he ratted her out about… well, _the _night I guess I'll call it. The rape just doesn't sound right to me. I shuddered. How awful it must have been… but in a way… I have a feeling Shikyo and Kage interacted between these 3 years and that scared me. Something must have happened that was worse during those three years…

"What?" He asked, staring at me.

I blinked. He stared straight at me with a serious expression as he made it clear he knew I had a question. The wind blew the book's pages, but he didn't seem to care.

I chuckled. Now suddenly my question sounded stupid, but I asked it anyway so the black kitsune wouldn't get annoyed and leave. "Why didn't you just end it?"

It was his turn to blink and be utterly bemused. I could tell he knew exactly what I was speaking of because he gave his right arm and peek, but he still seemed baffled by the question.

"Well… I've thought about it a couple times," I began in a stiffened voice, "and I haven't been through _half _the crap you have…" I couldn't believe how dim-witted I sounded. This conversation might encourage him! I had to continue anyway, "To tell the truth, Kage… I don't think we're going to be able to win this…"

A dead filling hit the air and the landscape lost its exquisiteness. I turned away from Kage and looked out to the forest below me and this time did not compliment it. It looked deceased to me – everything did.

"I don't," Kage began, suddenly taking the step of making a least somewhat of a speech, "fight for… myself, you see."

I took a glimpse at him to find his head turned towards the sky above. For the first time there was a smile – a really unique, happy smile – not a smirk on his face. Something must have spread upon him to realize whatever he was going to say next. I listened closely for his next line.

"I myself for one am really… dead, I guess," he muttered trying to put words together so they would sound right, "though I still walk this god-forsaken planet. And you know what; I give up on this whole plan myself about a million times a day." By now he was growing more confident with what he was speaking. "There are times that I think 'God, how did I even think up this stupid idea' and there are times when I think Shikyo is immortal and cannot be defeated. Half the time I'm thinking I'm heading for a complete break down… But I want to tell you something…"

I leaned in a bit closer.

"If you can't fight for yourself, find something to fight for." His smile increased as he beamed up at the sky. "I fight so **no one**ever, _ever _has to go through what I went through again."

My walk back through the forest was directed towards the ground in thought instead of towards the canopy of leaves in wonder. Kage and Meep had left about 15 minutes earlier so no one was by my side. The black kitsune's words still rang in my ear: _"I fight so _no one _ever, _ever _has to go through what I went through again." _

I never thought of it that way and I was ashamed of that fact. All those times I just gave in and amazingly saved by one thing or another, all the times I doubted, and all the times I discouraged… But Kage's short miraculously serious speech had grabbed my complete awareness to the verity that there is always hope.

There is always hope for a better future…. a better tomorrow.

I chortled. I was taking mental notes from a kitsune that had just cut himself twelve times with a knife about how this battle was worth fighting. Kage was a hypocrite, but I couldn't bring my mind to believe that.

He has taught me so much on this voyage – as have everyone else we have been traveling with. I have learned more in this past month or so than I have my entire life. These things that I was edified would remain with me until the end of my days unlike the skills I would be learning at school right now.

Memories flooded back to me and I laughed as I saw all the good times we had together although we were faced with what may as well be the greatest threat of this lifetime.

Shikyo has been taunting us the entire way also; telling us just to throw our lives away to her. Sooner or later we were going to hate it so much that we would listen to her demands. But now I saw a new light.

There's no way that I'm running away.

Never. Never again.

I took my eyes off the mud and up to the top of the trees and took a deep breath. 'Kage, I figured out what I'm fighting for… I'm fighting so the good times we have had will go on… I'm fighting for my friends – and that includes you.'

Wow, I am soo sorry that took so long! See, well I have an excuse you see. On Labor Day I got a puppy. He is a 9 week old Cairn Terrier and I named him Drake. He's a bit of a pushover – especially when I'm typing this story and he is chewing on the computer wires. (Grumbles) But I still love him.

Going on… gosh, I must tell you all a story. I was in Social Studies the other day and I was trying to open this bottle of chap stick that I have (putting chap stick on my lips as always been a bad habit of mine) and the bottle wouldn't open. I asked several people to open it but they couldn't get it open either. So I walk to my teacher's desk and ask him to get it open. He tries, but fails. So he goes digging in his desk for like five minutes and pulls out a 2 foot wrench and gets it open with that.

………… Are teachers even supposed to have wrenches? I thought that would be considered like a weapon or something. If _I _brought a wrench to school _I _would get in trouble. (Grumbles more)

Oh well, right, next chapter. I'm going to have to say late next week. I know what happens at the end of it, but not the rest of it. So yeah, its going to take me awhile.

Love Not

Kelsey


	31. Chapter 31

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 31

Tails' POV

The rest of the day went remarkably well after my conversation with Kage. I was shown more around Mori Mura and met some interesting spiritualist folk that told me more about their life in the middle of nowhere. It was funny to see everyone's reaction to the black kitsune's sudden return; some absolutely freaked and hugged him, but most hit him and yelled at him for leaving. It was funnier to see Kage's response to everyone. At first he tried to keep his cool, but by the end he was ticked. Every time he was slapped he said he didn't deserve the cruel treatment, but one of them he admitted was merited: it ends up when he left three months ago he stole the person's boots. Sadly, he didn't give them back by the end of the conversation and walked away with them on his feet.

Amy was no longer with us. She ran off with a wolf girl her age into the market. If she comes back wearing something skimpy like her new little friend was I'll hit some sense into her for Sonic's sake.

Nicole and Nekosa were with us for a while, but the grey cat pulled his sister away from us long ago after having an argument with Kage over something I did not quite understand.

And Meep flew off long ago in an attempt to get Ero a new knife set after dumping his old one into a scorching volcano. I didn't exactly know how the little thing would be able to get them all to the rabbit's house, but Ero really didn't seem to care if the Chao struggled a bit.

So it was only Kage, Ero, and I walking through the streets of Mori Mura with more residents than I expected walking among us. Oh, we met up with Ero's girlfriend, Flora, too that the rabbit had mentioned when Kage told him to 'come out of the closet' and she wasn't too happy to see him. By the end of the argument between the two – which included a talk about Ero being gone for six weeks and something about him cheating on her with Kage – they broke up. Well, really they broke up after Kage covered for himself and said Ero was cheating on her with Nekosa, but going on.

The rabbit wasn't happy with the kitsune so we were completely quiet. I did notice that there was some relief in Ero's eyes though – I would never want to be going out with a girl that made your pet name "bastard"… Oh well, I was fine with the silence. It gave me time to explore the city more instead of making sure the two's conversations didn't come to a point they didn't want to talk to each other anymore.

The spiritualists were just like Indians really. Though they were more advanced than that culture that lived way before their time, the spiritualists repeated plenty of the traditions. Like warpaint and ceremonies and trading. There was no money here… you instead brought things you made to the market and trade them for the items you need or want. It was a whole different world here. I felt odd here; but Ero and Kage probably felt more like aliens than I did when they were in the cities I was used to like Hatsu Kingdom and Kiwi.

I quickly stepped aside and almost ran into Ero when little children ran pass us with wooden toy weapons and warpaint, which ten to one they put on themselves, funnily spread across their faces. They weren't dressed in skimpy elegant clothing like the wolf Amy had run off with, but weren't in complete rags either.

The city more reminded me of a medieval town than anything though most of the customs related to the Indians. How the market was set up explained that much. Chickens roamed around picking up the crumbs from the newly baked bread while trying their best not to get stepped on while dogs lazily chewed on bones that were discarded from their owners at the stands. I was almost expecting trumpets to sound and King Author of the Roundtable to roam through here while heading to his castle somewhere in the distance.

I felt as though I was in a movie.

"Have you guys ever seen a movie," I asked randomly.

A daze of mystification entered the two's face as they stared down at me in curiosity. I couldn't help but to chuckle.

"What is a move-ee?" Ero asked leisurely. Kage seemed to want to know the question too as they both gazed down at me waiting for an answer.

How do you explain a movie? "A motion-picture," I said, trying my best to elucidate, "It's like a portrait that moves and tells a story. The characters in it talk and…"

Kage tilted his head, "Your art moves?" They both seemed dumbfounded by this.

"Well, some of it." I replied.

"And talks?" the rabbit muttered.

I nodded with a grin spread across my face, "Yes."

The two looked at each other for a second and then stared back at me as they tried to grasp the concept of a 'movie' in their minds. They undeniably seemed enthralled in what I was telling them so I decided to say more, "Uhm…" I garbled, glancing around. Then it hit me, "What about a CD, a Compact Disk?"

They didn't respond.

"It's a round circle with a hole inside that when put into a CD player it plays music," I clarified.

"CD player?" Kage questioned.

"It's like a… radio."

The two didn't know what I was babbling about, but still paid attention as I talked on and on trying to explain exactly what a radio is. I never realized how hard it was to explain my world to them. I wonder what they would think if I brought up school… did they even have actually 'school' here? They may consider their 'spiritualist training' school, but… I didn't bring up the subject because it could take a while to explain. Finally I said to them, "One day I'll show you all this stuff, all right?"

Kage eyes lightened when he evoked something, "Oh, ever seen Ryuukotsusei?"

It was my turn to look to the two baffled, "Ryuuka-what?"

"Ryuukotsusei."

I shook my head, "No."

The black kitsune excitedly glanced over to Ero, "Do we have time to show him?"

"Uh, well sure," the rabbit answered. "I haven't seen it in a long time anyway."

"Been to see the what?" I asked.

"The Ryuukotsusei," Kage responded.

"What is the Ryuu-ko-sus-e-thing?"

I had to tilt my head all the way back to see the top of the cave we were now standing before. It projected almost as though it was a huge mouth and I was some-what afraid that we'd get eaten if we stepped inside. Inside the cave could never be seen with the naked eye; it was so dark and gloomy it made a chill go up your spine.

"Is this that Ryuukotsusei thing?" I asked. The only reason I knew how to pronounce it now was because I practiced saying it on the way to the cave, which was at least two miles away from Mori Mura.

"Yep," Kage said while heading inside, "be on your toes, runt, you never know what might get ya in here."

I gulped and looked to Ero, "He's kidding, right?"

"The only thing we'll see alive in there is a bat or two," the rabbit answered. Then he called to the kitsune up ahead, "Kage, we need a light to see in there, you idiot."

Kage emerged from the mouth of the cave, "Oh, uh, right." He didn't want Ero to remember his stupid act of walking in a dark place without a flashlight and quickly added, "At least I'm not crazy, crazy guy."

Ero snapped, "SHUT UP!"

"Do we need a flashlight or something?" I asked as Ero lunged towards the black kitsune, who simply stepped out of his way. The two stopped bickering though and stared at me.

"A… 'flashlight'," the rabbit interrogated.

I sighed. I totally forgot they had no technology like that here, "Never mind."

The two spiritualists looked to each other and shrugged. Deciding to drop the subject, Ero paced over to a tree, broke off a branch, and muttered something under his breath as he waved his hand over the top of the branch. It began to glow.

"Come along," Ero said as he began into the cave.

We quickly followed.

At first the cave was just like a normal cave. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. I was happy that the cave was spacious so we didn't have to crawl. I have been in a cave that I had to crawl in before and it wasn't great. "Does Ryuukotsusei mean cave cuz if it does… cave would be much easier to say, don't you think?"

"Oh no, no," Ero told me, "the Ryuukotsusei is _inside _the cave."

"Oh."

It took a while, but soon we had arrived at a large mental door. This scene reminded me of something, but what. The memory of going to see the Watchers entered my head and my heart leapt. "Do you have to say a password to get in here?"

The two nodded.

"Let me guess… Frika?"

The door didn't shunt.

"Close," the rabbit said. "Ryu."

The door shook and gradually creaked open to reveal yet more darkness.

Kage scolded, "He wasn't even close!"

The rabbit didn't even look at the black kitsune's reaction when he whipped him off-side the head with the stick, "Shut up, Kage."

I had not seen a dark cave until the dim light from the large open door disappeared into space. The light twinkling off the branch was our guideline and it barely showed anything around us except for ahead, which bothered me. Ero said only a few bats live in here, but in such a dark place how can he be sure? I gripped my hand thinking that I had the sword Kage provided to me, but I soon realized that the weapon had broke. I do need to get one somehow before we leave here. **Mental note: Get a Weapon.**

A greenish-blue light glistened to the front of me. Was it the end of the cave? No, the sunlight would be a different color right? Ero had blown out the light by now as we stepped into the green illumination.

My eyes widened at the site.

The ceiling and walls were constructed of shimmering green and blue crystals that reflected off an unknown light source. The massive rocks landing around the place had blue sapphire stones smashed into them as greenish-blue gems stuck out of the ground – some even reached to the ceiling serving as pillars. Bizarre baby blue orbs about the size of the end of my pinky finger flew around the room and I swore I heard diminutive giggling fill my ears. Pastel purple, sapphire blue, and glittering green flowers grew in patches around the shards sticking out of the ground and the rocks that filled the area. This dome room was quite large – it could fit the entire population of Mori Mura inside comfortably. It was awe striking…

"So this is the Ryuukotsusei?" I asked in admiration.

"No, this is Shigematsu's burial chambers," Ero answered, "the Ryuukotsusei, or Shigematsu's Tomb, is up ahead. See, over a thousand years ago far before the Mobians – as you call yourselves I guess – ever existed, power beasts lead the lands of Mobius with a mighty fist and Shigematsu was given the title 'Lord of the North' when his father handed him the land. He had thousands upon thousands of slaves at his beck and call and this is what one of the many temples he made the vassals build – the most important one too." During this talk we were walking across the crystal room and to the next chamber. "According to stone tablets that have been left in this place, he was the creator of the Great Forest."

Ero's last words faded as we entered into Shigematsu's Tomb, the Ryuukotsusei. On a very large stone platform in the middle of the room reflecting the same color from the walls as the room before rested the bones of an enormous dragon. Despite their age, they were still a silky white, contrasting from the rest of the bones covering the area. Surrounding the platform were several bodies – probably of the dragon's servants' remains. The dragon had to be the size of the highest building in Mobotropolis – and that's saying something. One of his claws was four times the size of me.

"It is said that the dragon Shigematsu will arise from his slumber to those that are strong enough to summon him." the rabbit laughed. "And sadly, that hasn't happened yet." He looked to the black kitsune, who was sitting on a rock facing the dragon playing with the little blue giggling orbs with his finger and the rabbit grinned wider. "But you're still trying aren't you, Kage?"

Kage glanced over to him, "No."

Ero sighed happily, "Well, let's get out of here before everyone wonders where we are. I have to cook dinner anyway."

We were back at Ero's once again in the kitchen.

The large oak wood table has eight chairs with six occupied. Ero sat in the chair right back the doorway to the foyer. Nekosa sat to his left and a chair to the cat's left was empty, but reserved for Nicole. To the left of Nicole's chair was Molly with the happy-go-lucky Meep (who was joyous about getting the knife set to the house in one piece) on her head. To Molly's left was Amy and then to her left was me. To my left was Kage and the chair next to him was bare, separating him and Ero. Ero had gotten made at the black kitsune on the way back when the subject of his girlfriend was brought up again and somehow Nekosa heard about Kage's remark about Ero going out with him. The two weren't happy…

"You know, Ero," Nekosa said with a sneer as he glared straight at Kage, who was reading his book from earlier today, "none of this would have happened if it wasn't for that son-of-a-bitch."

Kage glanced up from his novel and coughed while looking away, "You and Ero look good together, Ass-Cat…"

"I'm going to ring your fuckin neck!" Nekosa shrieked as he lunged out of his seat and towards the black kitsune. He halted though when Kage tired to deflect him with his right arm, "What is there are cast on your arm?"

Kage's expression fell from playful to distressing.

"Leave him alone," Ero said quickly, totally forgetting his anger towards Kage.

Amy nodded, utterly ignoring the older rabbit's remark, "Yeah, Kage, I've been wondering about that all day…"

Kage didn't say a word as he stared straight at his right arm, which I noticed Nekosa was holding with great care.

"Leave him alone," Ero snapped again, this time his threat real.

"Fine," Nekosa answered, discarding the arm, "I don't care anyway." And he left.

"Bad attitude," Amy said as she made a decision not to ask anymore questions about why Kage had a cast.

I nodded. I knew why he had to appalling attitude. Deep inside, though he probably will never admit it, he cares about the people around him… he'll never show it though. Not even to Nicole, his sister, who follows him around like a child chasing candy. I've barely known him for two days and I practically know all of his feelings. That's what happens when you heed conversations instead of entering them.

"Who wants dinner," Ero asked, standing up from the table. "We can have steak or chicken, your choice."

Kage was about to say something, but was quickly silenced by a glare sent to him from Ero. The rabbit was mad at him again.

"I say ---!" Amy began, but was interrupted by Nicole's calls.

"Kage! Kage! Nekosa!" She cried as she skipped into the room. "La-bas tu be! The cat glanced around the cooking room looking to find that Nekosa had left, but she didn't seem to care at the moment. "Quelqu'un il ici a voir tu!"

She stood by the doorway to the kitchen and bowed with her left hand out to present the doorway, "Persuader Dame Shikyo!"

And Shikyo entered the room.

And so the red carpet has been rolled out for Milady Ai Atari "Shikyo" Muraoko, citizen of the fallen Descentmet, Fiancée of Keita the 10th Watcher, Controller of Our Heroes Fates, and Bitch of the Year. Yes, my dear readers, it is finally time for us to rest our eyes upon the demented Shikyo…. in the next chapter (cough).

The next chapter, which is Chapter 32. (Blinks) Whoa… did you know the bad person hasn't made an actually appearance before this? Why are you guys reading this? Oh well, keep reading…

Ah yes, a lot of stuff in this chapter huh like the **table seating crap**. Yes, memorize it before the next chapter… or draw a diagram. I don't care. Just jot it down, copy it to Microsoft Word, spend hours on end on the internet remembering it, I don't care! Just do it, got it.

Walking the Wrong Way

Kelsey


	32. Notice!

Dear Dear Readers of Mine,

I am truly sorry to bring you such bad news, but I am taking a couple weeks off from writing Darkest Before Dawn. I know you are probably all pouting in your seats like WTF, espcially since I left you with such a extreme cliffhanger, but I have reasons why and here they are:

1) On Wednesday the 29th during a lab in science class I got hydrocloric acid dumped on my right hand - which is my writing hand - and had to be immediately escorted to the nurse's office and had to stay in there all day with ice on my hand and several phone calls had to be made to doctors and other such people and sadly my hand still burns like hell and its Saturday! It's so bad I have to take medicine for it and keep gloves on at all times. Yah, never fool around in labs. It pays. Actually I was being a good-little-girl (cough, cough) and my friend poured it for no good reason, but that's not the point

2) Guess what lazy bitches and bastards alike? No one's reviewing again! So I don't have to write. Ah, the joys. I'm not trying to be mean about it really, I just want to know people are reading and what they think of my book. Is that so bad? Is that so bad? No. I don't think so.

3) TheFunkMaster told me i needed a vacation. I've been bitching alot to him about how I have no idea what to write and about my demented looking hand and he finally said i need some time to relax and I agree. I've worked my butt off for a long time. I need a vacation. I've been writing, and drawing, and thinking, and bitching with my mom, and making sure my brother's girlfriend gets a good b-day present (don't ask), and school, and dealing with my L.A. teacher, and dealing with snappy friends that dont care about me, and other things. But as for FunkMaster, he has had enough vacation! He sits around filling his head with cottage cheese by playing video games and watching tv and he needs to get out and do something! FATTY! Actually, I don't even know what you look like, but that's not the point.

So yes, many reasons I am taking a much needed break from the maddness of ff.shit. Sorry to leave you all at such a cliffhanger... but that makes it even better! (Laughs at you) Now I have to go fill myself up with more painkiller pills and watch Yu Yu Hakusho. So long and later days! 


	33. Chapter 32

I hope you all _memorized the seating chart. _If not, go do it now.

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 32

Tails' POV

I sat stunned as Shikyo made her way into the kitchen with an evil smirk placed upon her lips. She bore dark, blood red eyes that glinted off his pink fur. Two pink bangs on each side of her head reached down to her cheeks wand were tipped in black as the rest of her heir was in a loose bun with black tipped hair springing out shortly. She was about my height and wore a light ivy green clock marked with blood stains from her victims. Her hands had tight black gloves with a strange red symbol on the tope of them. She was confident – almost too confident – as she approached us with orange, skinny kitsune tails waving around slightly with her stroll.

"Hello, everyone," she said with a hint of lunacy in her voice as her treacherous smirk widen. Her voice… it almost seemed deadlier now than it did in my head. "Surprised to see me?"

I myself could barely get my mouth open to breathe properly. The condition Keita was found in was a shock, but Shikyo's abrupt entrance had me off the hook. I don't know why I was so petrified to see her before me now, though her hideous voice has lingered in mind aimlessly for a while now, but I found that I was shaking and my eyes didn't dare to lose sight of her or flicker. A chill journeyed rapidly up my spine. The sudden struck of coldness told me I had started up a fever.

Her eyes connected with mine. I wanted to look down, glance away from the devilish woman standing before me, but I was too staggered to remove my sight away from hers. "Miles," she cooed, "how nice to finally meet you in person…" She bowed rather contemptuously as she continued, "And I'm honored to meet the rest of you…" The hint of bereavement lined her eyes as she took great care at studying each of us while she pulled gradually up from her stoop.

Shikyo's sights landed on Kage. She hissed, "Hello, Kage."

The black kitsune never replied back as he stared at her incommodiously. His stare, unlike mine, was able to peal away from the devil girl's malevolence bloodthirsty eyes and onto the wood plank floor.

Shikyo looked back to us with a more twisted look, "Sorry to stop by so late, but I was going to see Keita and decided to drop by for a _quick _visit…" Her hand rested on the back of the empty chair between Kage and Ero's seat and was about to pull it out so she could have a seat, but Ero rapidly pulled the chair out from the pink hedgehog's grip and sat down in it to indemnify the separation he wanted between the black kitsune and her.

The demented girl only chuckled and took a seat in Ero's original spot. Her glance switched to the purple Chao on the top of Molly's head who was snarling threatening her. "You should teach your Chao better, Kage," Shikyo warned him, her sights still sat on the growling Meep, "or it might get hurt…"

"What do you fucking want?" Ero asked, cutting down to the point. Trying his hardest to be tranquil, the rabbit said his question in a stern, unwavering voice. His absolute rage could not be shown as he stared straight down at the pink hedgehog with two fox tails that had joined us, but I could tell he for one was pissed she had made this unexpected appearance.

She abruptly whipped her head around to look at the rabbit questioning her. "Why, I've come here to see you all of course… after all, you are my _favorite _people."

"That's comforting," Ero muttered mordantly under his breath.

Shikyo's grin did not flicker though she perfectly heard the comment made. Instead she sniggered as she put her left cheek into the palm of her hand, her elbow resting on the table. "Quite outspoken, hmm…" A promise of death flashed through her eyes as the two stared at each other. "I can change that… you'll be first…"

The rabbit was taken back. His eyes sparkled in disorientation and fright.

"Skip a seat and skip a seat and skip a seat, and its right back to you…"

I didn't exactly get what Shikyo was speaking of, but what ever it was it didn't sound good. Something tumbled off my head. I looked down to find Meep sitting between Amy and me still growling anxiously at the hedgehog/kitsune ahead of him.

The devilish woman scoffed, setting the mood into only a worse state. She was pleased with our confused looks and terrified stares. It seemed that she didn't want us to think about the avowal too long, because she began to speak in a hissing voice, "I wish all of you would be able to stay alive long enough to see my Dream World shape, but by the end of all this…. _disturbance_…. most of you will already be dead…" She lazily waved her right hand around aimlessly and made us finch when lengthy claws sprung, piercing through the finger tops of her glove.

"My reign will be the most brutal form of dictatorship this pitiful planet of yours has ever experienced…" Shikyo explained, "The land will be struck with death and poverty, the waters poisoned with blood. Anyone that defies my law will be punished. Millions will die a day, barely any born til the point when your pathetic race is extinct. Then, once I _purify _everyone by turning them into my 'creatures' can my Dream World finally commence…"

I had never heard Shikyo used the word 'purify' before and it interested me. And the Dream World beginning after everyone is turned into her 'creatures'? Did she mean the shadow chameleons or… were her 'creatures' something else? For a minute I wanted to know, but by the way I had seen things lately, I knew the beings she wanted to create were going to be sick in the mind. And turning them into them after they were dead? I remembered Kage saying the chameleons were souls of the dead possessed by Shikyo… was she going to possess them the same way or what?

"Thousands – _millions! _- have already joined me for my cause," the hedgehog said, "but I am greatly sorry you all have not… oh well, there will always be punishments for those who resist…" Her eyes immediately flashed over to Kage. "Right, Kage?"

The black kitsune didn't answer or move from his position of his hands on his lap and his vision directly at the floor, but I knew inside he was freaking out. You could tell by the turmoil in his eyes. Sadly, those crimson eyes of his show all.

I could tell Shikyo was not expecting him to answer by the amused smirk that grew more deadly on her face.

"Leave."

I was expecting that to be Ero, but amazingly enough it was not his voice. Shikyo looked up behind her to find Nekosa's stabbing glare facing her and he towered over the evil child as though she was nothing. I hadn't even noticed him walk into the door or his very appearance before this moment and I knew why: I was concentrating on Shikyo and her words way too much.

The gray cat was not thrilled as he made his massive shadow cover the hedgehog. His brown eyes showed his rage as he tightly grabbed an eight to nine foot stilted staff (a Bo) in his right hand. By the look of him he seemed perfectly ready to either snap Shikyo's neck or chuck her out the window – either one would really be fine to me.

Shikyo cooed, "Oh, Nekosa, how nice of you to come…"

"Leave," he repeated, his voice burning with hate.

I didn't comprehend what was going on so well…. Why was Nekosa so driven to make her leave? I don't think the cat had been given even a simple description of her. To tell the truth, I don't remember any of us _mentioning _Shikyo since we had gotten here – or at least, whenever he was around. But there was a lingering possibility that maybe – just maybe – Kage had told him before he had left three months ago. But why him over Ero?

Shikyo simply clapped her hands together ignoring Nekosa's desires, "Sit."

Nekosa sat almost instantly on the woman's command. The look in his eyes told that Shikyo had controlled him to do this simple action. A little whimper came from his left.

Nicole sat at the table in turmoil. When the pink hedgehog with two fox tails first came in she had been hyper and happy – for she had thought she had brought in a friend – but the more the conversation went, though her english was not the best, her smile had turned into a frown. Her bright blue eyes had misted more and more as the discussion proceeded. She regretted ever letting Shikyo in…

"As I was saying…" Shikyo began again, delighted that now everyone she wanted was sitting at the round table, "For those that resist there will be punishment… and since you all are my _favorite _people, I'll especially make sure each of yours are _painful_ – whither I kill you or not is _my _decision… after all, I like to _toy _with some of my victims…" Her sights landed on Kage all over again.

My vision began to go hazy when her red eyes switched over to me. It felt as though I had just been transported to the North Pole in a matter or milliseconds. My fever skyrocketed when she looked at me. That's it; she had to go… there was no way I was going to be able to stay awake with her sitting there. It would be nice if I could just kill her and be over with it, but making her leave the house was the highest point that I could mark on the chart in my mind.

Shikyo was saying something else, but I did not pay attention to her words. I grabbed the sharp knife that was given to me as one of my eating utensils. Sure, Nekosa's leave order did not work, but at the same time he never had a knife up to her neck. Might as well try it. I stood up so silently that only truly sensitive ears could here my feet land on the wooden floor.

Next thing I knew I had the knife to Shikyo's neck. The only sound was the hedgehog's surprised gasp and Ero and Nekosa's chair scooting away. "I'm going to ask you nicely," I said, trying to make my voice shake, "leave."

Shikyo simply scooted herself away from the table and from the blade I was holding and stood up, "I guess I should go…" Her voice held no fear – it was almost as she was expecting me to take that action.

She turned to leave, but stood at the doorway between the foyer and the kitchen. "Come to Hatsu Kingdom… I'll see you there."

And she was out the door.

Relief sighs came from every direction. I could feel the calmness hit the air immediately once the front door was slammed shut. Finally, peace… My fever immediately decreased and my vision was back to perfect.

"Everyone all right?" I asked, looking back to them.

Almost everyone gave me a nod except for Kage, whose eyes were still lowered to the floor. "I'm… going to the Dragon's Crown."

And he left.

Hi everyone! I'm back! Go me! My hand still hurts and looks demented but ah I took too long of a break! So how are you all? Sorry, I'm hyper. Whoa. My head hurts. Oh well. WAHOO!

(Cough) Sorry. Yah, for people that thought the end was starting here… think again. You all really thought I was going to forget about Hatsu Kingdom? (Shakes head) Tsk, tsk, dear readers. I thought I have taught you to be much smarter than that. Guess not.

Well, I'll try to get up the next chapter as soon as possible!


	34. Chapter 33

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 33

Amy's POV (That's right, oh, go Kelsey!)

The clouds did not look pleasant. They were assembled in a muster that broaden across the blackish gray coated sky and foretold that a rainstorm would soon be arriving. They had such a cold, rebellious look as they drifted high above me.

I quivered as I attempted to warm myself by chafing my hands swiftly across my shoulders and upper arms. Even though it was June, the weather was so chilling it was like the winter. The dirt roads were still mucky from the storm that had hit last night and the mud would fix itself onto my shoes like glue, making it so my shoes would grow heavier at every step. Despite my discomfort in such conditions, my eyes still switched to each side in hopes of finding a sign that read 'The Dragon's Crown'.

Right when Shikyo and Kage had left, Tails had immediately been put to bed because of a serious fever. Nekosa had dragged Nicole home regardless of her efforts to stay until the black kitsune returned. Ero had been up worried, but finally feel asleep and Meep somehow hauled him and Molly to bed – leaving me. I could have gone to bed myself, and probably should have, but the visit with Shikyo had filled my mind.

I was scared. I never realized how much I resembled the woman of nightmares. I was pissed when Kage had made _me _Shikyo at Descentmet during our little 'truth-telling act', but tonight had made me recognize that I truly looked like her, and I wasn't happy about that fact one bit. Had this detail been the reason why Kage hates me… and maybe even scared of me?

FLASHBACK

_I stomped up the stairs of the tavern in the ruined Forestine in an extremely nasty mood. I had been woken up at 4:30 in the morning, had to eat sickening pancakes, and now I had heard from Ero that Kage was upstairs entertaining Meep with stupid impressions of me. Usually I wouldn't have minded the third one, but after the first two, the third made me peeved to the acute. _

_I swiftly made my way down the hallway up stairs and violently grabbed the door handle to the room we all slept in. With a grand amount of force, I broke into the room with fire burning in my eyes. As the door moved to reveal the black kitsune, I screamed, "KAGE!" _

_Kage immediately jumped back away from the door and hit his back on the wooden planks that made up the floorboards. I thought my sudden entrance would frighten him, but when he gazed at me his eyes held a type of terror that I had never seen in my life. _

_I relaxed my position and stood baffled. _

_His eyes dissolved from horror to a mark of relief. He laughed and said, "Oh, it's just you, Bratness. I thought you were someone else," to cover himself._

END OF FLASHBACK

I had always thought of that incident as a misunderstanding and maybe even a point to show that Kage was all talk. Course, back then I barely even heard of Shikyo…

My eyes lightened when they fell upon a hanging wooden sign that read 'The Dragon's Crown' outside of a two-story building where muffled music and singing could be heard. With a deep breath that aided my courage I pushed open the double doors of the tavern and marched in.

Over a hundred spiritualists crowded the crammed inn known as 'The Dragon's Crown'. Most carried around pints of beer and whisk and few even had some sort of bluish wine. A majority of them hovered around some type of foot game that only had two players. The ground of the pub was dirt and the tables and chairs were made from smoothed wood. It was not the cleanest place, but it was much better well kept then I thought it would be.

My eyes landed on Kage.

He sat at the bar area eying the weird foot game in process with a pint of beer in his hand. The barkeeper seemed to know him and was on a chatting rave with him, but it was obvious the black kitsune was not paying attention.

I moved towards him trying my hardest not to get bummed into or noticed because of the fact I was way to young to be here. I climbed into a bar stool without Kage's acknowledgement. I cleared my throat to get his attention, but he didn't seem to notice my presence.

It was the bartender that found me first. He was a weasel wearing a dull orange tunic. He had gleeful green eyes as he was at work cleaning one of the many pint-glasses and talking small-chat to Kage, who was in a different world. When he did see me, his eyes switched to a serious look. "You're a little young to be here, missy."

"I just need to talk to Kage real quick, sir," I told him, being as formal as possible. Spiritualists, I knew, were all about formality (except for Kage and Ero – but they're just oddballs) so I made a decision to say 'sir' or 'ma'am' after every sentence spoke to any of them…

Kage glanced over at me, finally taking heed that I was there. He gave me his normal 'what the hell do you think your doing here, Bratness' look, but I also saw the hurt in his eyes and the thankfulness of my presence taking the barkeeper's attention away from him. "Did," he began, but I cut him short.

"I'm sorry!" I shouted out. I blushed when I realized I had interrupted him. So much for formality…

He gave me a bemused look. I was about to say more, but his eyes switched to a hard glare when he processed what I had spoke through his mind. He turned away from me and to the bar counter while taking a sip of his beer. "I don't want your pity," he snapped harshly.

"That's not what I'm giving you!" I told him my voice shaking. I wanted to sound confident through this, but my voice was not allowing such ideals. This was when I observed that the bartender had moved to another area to give us the privacy we needed. After a second of silence I began again slowly, "I'm sorry that I'm here…"

He cocked an eyebrow and answered sarcastically, "You could have just gone to be like the rest…."

"You know what I mean," I told him.

"No, really, I don't!"

I paused for a moment to think of what to say next. Finally I questioned, "I look too much like Shikyo for you, don't I?"

He stared at me, but could not keep his sights sat on me. Instead he stared down at his glass and avoided answering my question. I could see his response in his eyes and actions though.

Tears filled my eyes. I suddenly felt even guiltier and without thinking said, "I'll go home then… if I'm bothering you like this…" When I didn't get a reply, I jumped down from the barstool and began to leave.

"No, Brat --- Amy, wait!"

I stopped walking in utter befuddlement. Had he just called me by my real name? Well, that's a first… I turned around to find him looking back at me with his hand slightly held out as a stop signal. His crimson eyes were like a cloth of twisted pains and fears, following a pattern of dejection and suffering, held together by a hope I could not understand. For the first time I had seen them, taking out the time I had scared him in Forestine, not cold and hating. I had always hated red eyes, but now the look of his made me almost adore them. There was no way I could not go back.

I paced back and mounted myself once more in the chair.

Kage stared at his beer mug trying to search for words to say. Finally he began, "It's not your fault… I'm just a bit paranoid. Sure, you look _too _much like Shikyo at some points that I have to admit I'm terrified of you, but I always have the relief when you say or do something to make me realize you two are total opposites… If you bothered me that much I would have killed you when I had the chance."

"Why didn't you kill me, Kage?" I asked with barely any emotion. I was knocked out when he found me – and if I wasn't I forget the situation – but the question of why he did not kill the person that resembled the one he loathed when he had the opportunity had be lingering in my mind this entire time.

"I wanted to at first," he answered truthfully, "really I did… pulled out my scythe and everything to get the job done quick and simply, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it. There was something… different… about you. Your presence was much different than Shikyo's despite looking almost identical. So I decided to drag you along until you woke up and if you did anything Shikyo would do I'd simply kill you, but obviously your still here." A smile formed on his face as he chuckled at the memories they had had together. "I don't know… I just feel safe around you… I'm happy you're here and I don't want you to leave…"

Tears filled my eyes again. That was so sweet! I had no idea he could come up with something that… nice.

"Course, you are still a brat," Kage remarked, ruining everything.

I sighed, "Thanks, Kage."

Ello everyone sorry this took so long! I had a writer's block! Damn writer's blocks they suck! For any of you that write your own stories out there, do any of you have "habits" you do when you're in the middle of a writer's block? I personally have a bowl of ice cream and marshmallows and watch stupid things on TV after every time I try to write with a writer's block. I only do that when I have one too. It's really weird.

Going on though, I need to talk to **AtomCrossEx **for a minute. Don't care if the rest of y'all read. I have something to say about your review, Atom. (Brings up review and coughs) First off you said that Shikyo's first appearance was really, really scary when I thought it was one of the worst chapters I have done in the book. But don't worry about that, it's the next thing I was to bring up. You said you liked Shikyo. May I ask you a question? How is that possible? I'm not mad or offended or making fun of you or anything, but I'm just wondering how the heck you can possible like the bitch. I really wanna know. Personally, I despise her. I loathe her. She sucks. And usually I don't think my characters suck. Maybe my hate of developed from the fact that I know more about her than you do or the fact she raped (and did much more to) my favorite character. I just wanna know how you like. So review and tell me please, cuz I'm curious.

Alright, next subject. I need to do a disclaimer. Yes, I realize that this is the 33rd chapter and that I should have done this in the 1st chapter, but I don't really care so back off! So might as well do it now.

**Disclaimer**

© Tails, Amy, Sonic Team, Mobius, etc. is own by SEGA, INC. All rights reserved.

© All made-up characters, story-plots, death situations, spiritualists, places (Hatsu, Descentmet, Mori Mura, etc.), "The Dragon's Crown", the game "Foot-Sock", etc. is owned by me, Kelsey Lang. All rights reserved.

P.S. "Foot-Sock" is the game the spiritualists were playing in "The Dragon's Crown". I'll explain the rules and stuff in detail once I make up how to play it.


	35. Chapter 34

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 34

Tails' POV

VISION

_The stars lit up the midnight sky as did the flaming torches of the isolated harbor. It was not the grand Fall Tip Harbor, but instead a small dock lined with torches and a skillfully crafted wooden ship strapped up at the end with a firm rope. The port was surrounded by trees and shrubs that shadows envisioned monsters lingering amongst the woods. The crackling of the fire sounded as though it was the taunting laughs of the tree shadows as they swayed in the darkness._

_I found it bizarre I would find myself at such a place. I thought instead I'd be at Keita's house seeing it smolder into ashes. I wandered closer to the waterfront and only then was when I realized that two figures stood directly before the boat. Thanks to the slight breeze, the fire would sway and make the light on them brighten and fade constantly. _

_One silhouette was slightly taller than the other and when the light would flash onto them I could only see that the two were masked in heavy green cloaks – just like Shikyo's. The barely taller one began, "Keita… I'm sorry…" I recognized the voice from the person that had been in the darkness of the forest before Shikyo had revealed her deadly plans. And now I knew exactly who this voice belonged to: Kage._

_A chuckle came from the smaller figure, who was obviously Keita, "No apologizes, Kage. I am the one to blame… after all; I am the one that got her out-of-hand." He reached up and tightened the black kitsune's hood just enough so it would not blow off from the increasing wind. "You just go back to Mori Mura and don't worry about a thing." _

_"What are you going to do?" Kage asked with a hint of fear in his voice. _

_Though Keita's face was covered with the hood, I could see his smile beam out of the fabric. "You don't have to concern yourself with such things." _

_Kage nodded and began to board the boat, but stopped when he heard Keita cry out, "Kage, wait!" _

_He stopped and looked back at the Watcher, who was opening his cloak while pulling a mysterious object out. He held out a long, slender like item with both hands as though it was something precious to him. "I want to give this to you." He lifted so Kage could garb it from his hands. _

_Kage took the thing out of his friend's hand curiously and soon I saw him pull of what seemed to be a sheath and a long strip of metal reflected the fire's dazzling light. "I thought you loved this sword…" _

_"I'd rather you have it. It might get… ruined… in my care." _

_"Thanks." He turned back to travel onto the boat once more, but stopped swiftly. "Will I ever see you again," he questioned softly, looking back at the other kitsune._

_Keita turned away and hesitated for a second thinking of exactly what to say. I could tell he was debating with himself wither he should tell a fib or blurt out the truth about the fire. "Yes, Kage," he decided to say, confidence ringing in his voice, "someday, but I cannot say when." _

_The black kitsune seemed satisfied and turned back to get into the boat. _

_Figures clamored out of the boat after Kage and began to untie the ropes and hoist the sails to set sail. Keita stood by as the crew set up for the takeoff, and soon the ship were leaving off the dock and into the sea before them. The black kitsune, as the ship was leaving the bay, jumped up onto the back of the ship to say goodbye, but was soon veiled by darkness and fog. _

_The Watcher turned swiftly around, and with his head low, began to make his way off the dock and towards the thick forest ahead of him. I could since the grief in him as he glanced over his shoulder a few times back at the faded ship. _

_I stood watching at Keita began to pass me not worried that the kitsune would see me. But I winced with his saddened blue eyes landed on me though just for a spilt second. Is it possible that he sees me? No, impossible. He stared back ahead of him and disappeared into the forest beyond._

R E A L I T Y

I sat up with a migraine. I let out a groan of pain as I clutched onto the sheets that covered my body and my aching head. Though those dreams helped me figure out what had happened in the past between Keita, Shikyo and even Kage, I didn't see why my head had to throb so badly afterwards.

"Mornin', runt!" A voice called.

I jumped from the sudden shout into my ear and looked over to find Kage next to me with a smirk on his face. "You look cheerfully this morning," I told him dully. His greeting had caused my head to hammer quicker and more aching. I would have thought the kitsune wouldn't be in a good mood after last night, but at the same time Kage is a pretty weird guy and I didn't want to ponder about it for that long – thinking equals more pain.

"Why shouldn't I be?" He asked.

I shrugged. I glanced around for an alarm clock to tell me the time, but I came back to the cruel reality that with the walk through the depths of the Great Forest had taken me from modern technology through a time machine back to hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Thankfully, Kage answered my time question, "It's almost 10 o'clock. C'mon, get up!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me forcefully out of the bed. My knees buckled on me the instant I stood up, but the black kitsune caught me before I fell onto the wooden floor. He set me on my feet while saying, "Don't worry, I was the same way this morning…"

With a little help down the hallway I was able to gain control of my legs once more. This dilemma told me that it was from the lack of sleep – even though I had a nap two days ago. A nap would never make up for the weeks I have kept my eyes vigorously open. But Kage must be worse and I'm almost positive he is: at some point while going to Kiwi and Descentmet he was throwing up… anything is possible when you've barely slept for more than 7 weeks.

We entered the kitchen to find everyone sitting at the table crowded around bacon and eggs. Though it looked tasty, my stomach wasn't up for it. Second day I haven't eaten breakfast. Shucks. I slipped into an open chair between Nicole and Amy trying my best to not interrupt their conversation in French that I could not understand.

I heard Kage say when he sat down next to Ero, "I had the weirdest dream last night…" Everyone ceased their chattering and stared at him. He blinked, "Why are you guys all suddenly so interested in my life?"

No one answered.

He groaned in annoyance that his question was not answered, but began to tell, "Well I had a dream that Shikyo came just before we were going to have dinner…"

Everyone looked at each other. I could see the expression in everyone's but the black kitsune's eyes: Kage thought that was a dream?

"Uh… Kage…" Ero muttered making sure he was not about to say something wrong, "Are you sure it was a dream…?"

The black kitsune confidently nodded and answered, "It had to be because afterwards I went to the Dragon's Crown and the Bratness came 'round being all non-bratty – which it purely impossible – so yes, it was a dream."

We all heard a smack against the table. I looked to my left to find Amy with her head pounded into the table and I swore smoke was ringing from her ears. Her hands were clenched and she was shaking in anger, but didn't want Kage to notice.

"What's wrong?" Kage asked innocently.

She quickly looked up at him and snapped, "_Nothing_." She stood up irately and dismissed herself from the table and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Brat," Kage muttered as he grabbed a few pieces of bacon from the center of the table and put them on his plate. As he began to concentrate his entire mind on the bacon everyone at the table glanced at each other with a look of agreement: we decided silently we wouldn't tell Kage it wasn't a dream. That would just put the kitsune in an appalling mood, and he deserved to be happy for at least a day or two. I know he'd figure out it wasn't a dream from Shikyo at some point or another, but until then we might was well keep him in a cheerful mood.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Nekosa, who was swirling his eggs continuously and barely noticed any of the conversation around him – which leads me to my next question – how does he know Shikyo? Last night the two had talked as though they knew each other personally. Could that cat have met her along time ago? Maybe he was friends with Keita too and was supposed to attend their wedding, but instead found Keita's house burned to ashes when he got there. It was the only theory I could come up with off top of my mind.

"Nekosa?"

The gray cat glanced up from his food to find Kage looking at him curiously.

"Do you remember Meep's real name?" The black kitsune asked. I didn't know what reminded Kage of the question I had asked him a few days ago, but I had a feeling it was the fact that Meep was sitting on the table banging spoons against a rather large pot for Ero's annoyment.

Nekosa thought for a moment, but speedily returned to stirring and swirling his eggs, "No. And do I care? No."

There was stillness at the table for only a few seconds before Ero changed the conversation towards a more serious subject, "Keita's gone. The Grand Elder said he was no where to be found this morning."

An uneasy silence spread rapidly around the table. Though everyone was quite surprised, we all had an idea of who took him: Shikyo. "Is that a good or a bad thing?" I asked. Though Keita's disappearance should be bad, how could the kitsune be of any help to us in his horrible condition? Could he even be any use to Shikyo?

"I don't think it really matters," Ero answered. "He's particularly dead how he is anyway…" He glanced to Kage to see if the kitsune would have a reaction to him saying this, but Kage didn't seem to mind.

Slowly but surely chatter started up again around the table on different subjects, and during this was an opportune moment to ask Ero a question without Kage noticing. "Ero," I muttered, grabbing his attention, "I need to ask you something."

He leaned over to me while slapping Meep's head to get him to shut up for a minute. His actions to cease the noise did not work, but he still said, "What?"

"Had Kage been gone for like a month of two between three years ago and three months ago?"

The rabbit rolled his eyes to the ceiling as though he was racking up memories in his mind. "Yah," he finally answered, "about a year and a half go he was gone for at least four to five months…"

My fear had been confirmed. Though the frankness of my fear was slim and probably untrue, I had a feeling his absence was caused by Shikyo. "Did he come back by himself or did you go out and find him?"

"I was about to," Ero answered, "but Nekosa brought him back."

A chair skidding against the wood floor interrupted our conversation as we turned to look at Kage, who had stood up suddenly. "They're here," he muttered. He had a knife gripped tightly in his left hand (oh, interesting fact about Kage. He's a lefty like me. twirls I'm a righty too…. I write with my right hand, but draw with my left. It's weird. Sorry, going on.)

"What are you talking about, stupid," Nekosa asked annoyed.

We all jumped when an earsplitting thump came from something large that hit the large kitchen windows. We gradually turned our heads to see what had smacked against the glass.

Thick, dark blood smeared cross the windowpanes and dripped heavily down the sides. There was a face slapped against the window with pale white eyes and a horrorstruck face. It took me a moment, but I was disgusted when I came up with the realization that it was the Grand Elder of Mori Mura. He had been brutally scalped with his brains flowing freely among his face and the window. Slowly he slid down with the blood and we could hear him smash into one of the vases outside. Chameleons smashed through the window and landed all over the kitchen with the Elder's blood covering them.

The beautifully decorated scythe emerged when Kage discarded the knife, "Looks like we've got company."

…… Boo.

Long time no see. Sorry this came up so late, but once more I have an excuse (snickers). See about a week ago my mom got a new bedroom suite for her birthday and who better to carry up the stairs and set up than my brother and I? So we were working on getting a dresser up stairs and my brother, being the idiot that he is, decides to see what would happen if he dropped it suddenly. He does and the dresser and I tumble down the stairs and BAM! It lands right on my legs. Ouch is right. Oh, by the way, yes I am clumsy and get hurt a lot. First the chemicals, now this.

But I guess you're wondering how this would affect my writing. Well, I had to stay on the couch for a week and a half and my computer happens to be upstairs.

So yah. Story of my life.

What else did I want to say? OH YEAH! I got this review from… uh… Bomber the Scoto Fox or something. Wonderful review, but it brought up something I had never thought of before. Quote on quote: **"It's too bad that the bloodyness of this fic is most likely driving off many readers...from something like this."** First off, buddy, its bloodiness, not bloodyness. Sorry, not my point. I just never thought of it that way before. Bloodiness driving off readers. Well, that sucks! I would think gore would bring me _more_ readers. Guess not. Is this fanfic even that bloody…? (Stares at description of Grand Elder and remembers the part in a chapter where a cougar was devoured by chameleons and Tails stepped in his brains and other such parts) Okay, I admit it, it's bloody. Hm, driving off readers. Ah well! I love the readers I had now.

See ya all next chapter that is promised to have lots and lots of blood! YAH!


	36. Chapter 35

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 35

Tails' POV

Oozing blood dripped off the shaded chameleons' teeth and splattered when it came in contact to the hard wooden floor. Blood seeped through the floorboards and soon the wood turned into a red mucky mess in only a matter of thirty to six seconds. The lizards grinned frantically as they twitched dangerously waiting for us to make the first move on them, which was unusual.

"I'm guess Shikyo sent them?" Nekosa asked as he glanced over to the black kitsune, who nodded solemnly. The gray cat rolled his eyes as he sarcastically muttered, "Great, fun all around…"

The reptiles grew impatience with delay of an action from our side and lunged forward at us bearing their blood-filled fangs. I hastily seized the knife Kage was gripping only a few seconds ago and shoved it through the skull of one of the lizards when it came in range of harming me. Usually I would be disgusted to so quickly slip the hanging dead chameleon from my blade, but killing these reptiles was starting to be a normal day thing. I slid the blade out from the limp head of the lizard and sliced another in half.

Once the fight was over the once clean kitchen was swathe in bulky blood and chameleon guts. I swore I heard Ero cuss about his room being dirtied from the reptile corpses.

"How many do you think she sent?" Nekosa questioned, looking at either Kage or I to answer.

"Not sure," Kage responded, "there had to be over a million bombarding Descentmet a week or two ago… Mori Mura is smaller and Shikyo probably wants this to be a quick and brutal raid, so I'd say at least five hundred thousand – give or take."

"There is no way this town can take that many – even if they are quick to kill!"

"I know," the black kitsune muttered.

Ero spoke up while tightly gripping his axe, which was covered in blackish red blood, "What about the leader? Is it possible the chameleons will retreat if the leader is taken out? It happened in Descentmet… I think."

"Leader?" Nekosa asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"The leader is not a chameleon," I told him, deciding to take the question so Kage or Ero would not have to waste their breath on explaining as both thought over the rabbit's theory, "it's a possessed person. It could be anyone – heck, it could be a child if Shikyo is sick enough…"

"It far-fetched, but it's worth a shot," Kage decided quickly. Once the decision was made, he took role as leader. "We're pairing in twos. Though it would seem to be unwise to split, we can scout more ground and find the leader faster."

"How will we keep in contact?" Ero asked uneasily.

The black kitsune ponder the question for only a rapid second, and came up with an answer, "We'll run into each other – promise." He pointed to me, "Runt, find Bratness – you two'll go together. Go to the entrance of the town." Then he switched to pointing at Ero, "You take French Girl and head towards the markets." He then next pointed to Meep, "Meep, I want you to take Molly to whatever the children are being hid and leave her there. When you're done, go to the Dragon's Crown cellar and bring me some puchi-bakuyaku – Ass-Cat and I will be at the Temple."

"I have to go with you?" Nekosa groaned, irritated by the decision.

"'Fraid so."

Our discussion was cut short when the cawing of the chameleons filled the deadly air close to the house. I tightly gripped the knife in my hand. Shikyo was sending the second force to rid us from the abode and into the center of the massacre happening outside.

"You all go," Kage cried, flipping around his scythe to prepare for the onslaught that was now pouring through the broken window, "Ass-Cat and I'll take care of this!"

The rest of us did not even give the black kitsune a simple okay nod as we all spilt up before the room was filled with dark reptiles.

I skidded into the hallway while slamming the kitchen door behind me, and looked over my shoulder at the front door to find that the lizards had knocked it down and were crawling all over the walls and ceiling.

I turned around to run down the path to find Amy, but jumped back when I came face-to-face with a chameleon, which was oddly stretching its body so it could hang upside-down from the ceiling and be at my height. It opened its mouth in an insane-like grin and bared its blood stained teeth. Its squeal pierced my hearing from its deafening high-pitch.

Not able to take the cry, I beheaded it and began sprinting down the hallway with the other lizards pursuing me all the way. I stopped at the room Amy was staying in and flung open the door, "AMY!"

I flung the knife straight into the room and stabbed one of the chameleons attacking Amy in the eye. Blood began to pour from the white ball as it screamed in pain and tried to pull out the blade from its socket. When it pulled out the stiletto though, the eye came out too, causing it more blood loss and pain.

The rest of the chameleons noticed their comrades pain and scampered out of the broken window they had entered in. "You okay, Amy?" I asked, slamming the door behind me to block off the on flow of lizards in the hall.

She nodded, picking herself up off the wooden floor, "Fine."

Grabbing her giant gold mallet for her, I informed her on the situation, "Shikyo's taking out the town. We've been assigned to the entrance. Let's go." I threw her the hammer, and she caught it with ease.

"Who made that decision?" She questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

I grinned at her and asked her a rhetorical question, "Who do you think?" I ripped the knife away from the chameleon and his eye. I beheaded him quickly.

"Kage," she sighed.

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_Market Place_

Ero's POV

I swung my axe through a chameleon and stabbed it through another. I coughed from the smoke rising off the parade of fires bordering the markets. Though Nicole and I were not the only ones fighting off the lizards, more and more seemed to come and soon the bazaar was conquered by shadows.

"ERO!" Nicole cried, pointing behind me.

I gripped my axe and swung it behind me to execute what she was warning me about, but impeded at the sight I saw towards the middle of the town. At first I thought it was the gray smoke playing tricks on me, but soon saw a colossal chameleon the size of a redwood tree emerge from the depths of the smoke's barrier.

"Leader?" The tan cat asked, struggling with the English.

I nodded, "Oui. Leader." I motioned her to follow me and began to sprint the direction the gigantic lizard. Though I could distinguish that Nicole and I could not possibly slaughter the monster alone, I knew I would meet up with few of the others – preferably Kage and Nekosa. No one could miss that enormous creature marching around unless their blind.

I fell back onto the cat behind me when a burning house toppled down before us and blocked our route with fire. We hit the ground and immediately were covered with raving mad reptiles wishing for our blood.

"Convoquer arrosez!" Nicole cried, pushing me up from her and forming her hand into a circle. Water broke through the ground, forcing the chameleons to fly up into the air. The fire ahead of us was quenched and our path was cleared.

"Thanks, Nicole," I said in gratitude, using my axe to push myself up from the soaked mud. I helped her up also so we could get going sooner. I stared to our destination to find that the creature was heading somewhere around the Temple area. "Come on, Nicole, we should be meeting up with Kage and Nekosa soon!" I didn't wait for her to cock an eyebrow, or ask me what I was saying and I jumped over the rumble and heading towards the monster once more and she followed me.

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_Depths of Mori Mura_

Kage's POV

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ass-Cat asked as he stabbed a chameleon through the mouth with a spear he had rapped onto his Bo only minutes ago.

I scowled. I hate stupid questions. "Of course I do! I've only been through this like million times!"

He cocked an eyebrow.

"Fine. Three."

He was about to mock me and make me feel like an idiot, but the wind was knocked out of him when a body was flung into his back. Blood cascaded from the copse and flowed onto him. I quickly rushed over to him to help get the body off before he ended up like it, but hesitated when I saw who is was. Crazy Guy's ex-girlfriend.

I sighed. I feel sorry for her. First Crazy Guy lies to her about his sexual preferences and then she gets exterminated by an army of raving mad shadow chameleons sent by a bitch. Bad couple days.

"Get this thing off me already!" Ass-Cat screamed, being the annoying little bastard he always is.

I had to dig my hands into her skin to get a good enough grip to fling her now useless, limp body off of him. When the rabbit hit the ground, the chameleons that were flocking towards us turned their attention to her and started to demolish her body from existence.

The girl's body did not last as a distraction for long, though, and soon Ass-Cat and I found ourselves slicing up lizards and sending guts flying once more. The chameleons were easy to kill (it only took one simple strike), but the difficulty was the number of them. They'd come and attack you in hundreds and when you're distracted with one, another comes up from the sides or behind and kills you. Luckily Ass-Cat was having one of his smart days, because he learned that quickly as I did when I first fought them.

I shoved my scythe through one of the lizards' stomach and lugged out a few of his organs, which were still functional. I was custom to things like this happening, but it still made me queasy every time. Somethings you never get prone to, I guess.

_Behind you, _Shikyo chuckled amused.

I jumped when the ground began to shake in intervals and the reptiles that were attacking us fled for cover. I glanced behind my shoulder when a rather large shadow was cast upon us.

"What the hell is that thing!" Nekosa asked, stepping back to get beside me and maybe to get a better look at the thing approaching us. I looked up and my eyes widened at the sight before us.

It was a chameleon the size of one of those huge buildings in Kiwi. It towered over our small town and crushed anything that was in its way. Its footsteps caused mini earthquakes and it seemed set towards finding its way to the Temple.

"Could that be the leader?" Nekosa questioned.

I shrugged, "Might as well figure out."

I lead Ass-Cat up onto the roof of one of the last houses that was not on fire or destroyed. To my luck it was ahead of the monster's stomach. I slammed my sickle into the roof. "Remember that stupid fighting move we made up a couple years ago," I asked, grinning with excitement.

He nodded, "Sure do."

"Ready to try it out?"

He gripped his Bo tightly as he raised it so the blade at the end would face the stomach of the beast. I placed mine between his so we both supported the wooden pole. Even though the sky was covered with smoke and the spear tip was covered with blood, I swore the metal gleamed, which only made me more thrilled.

"Ready… set…"

The monster detected us and cried ferociously, sending out a high pitch shriek that penetrated my ears and made me become deaf for a moment. It began to speed up as it rushed towards us. We waited patiently and calmly as it approached the house to slaughter us and the abode.

"GO!"

We launched ourselves off the roof and towards the stomach. I closed my eyes as I heard the cry from the enormous reptile when the spear pierced through his chest. Warm fluid encircled me as we tunneled a way through him. My feet at point landed on squishy surfaces and hard broken pieces pelting me.

We flew out the creatures back and collapsed to the blood-filled ground. (I hope you guys realize that they just went through him. If not I'm going to hit you). I let go of the Bo and shook myself of the blood that soaked me. I glanced over to Ass-Cat to find that he was also drenched with the red fluid and for a moment I thought he had no fur or skin. "That was fun," I finally said after spitting some of the lizard's blood out of my mouth.

"Sure was," he agreed sarcastically.

I turned around to watch the giant thing plunge and tackle the house. Blood poured from the hole through him and soon we were standing ankle-deep in the liquid.

"Seems they beat us to it," a voice muttered.

I glanced over my shoulder and smiled when I saw Crazy Guy and French Girl standing behind me, "Howdy."

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_Entrance of Mori Mura_

Tails' POV

When Amy and I rounded the corner to arrive at the entrance of the town, my eyes widened at the sight. There were barely any chameleons around, but the men and women there were still fighting vigorously. I took a step forward and was suddenly slapped by a branch. The wind was knocked out of me and I spit up blood as I flew into Amy. We both were knocked a good distance away from our original position.

"What was that?" Amy asked, regaining access to her sledge hammer.

My sight was hazy from the sudden impact, but once it was back to normal I realized that the most unexpected thing had smacked us.

A tree.

The oak tree was deracinated from the ground and its roots were twisted together so it formed two legs. All the leaves on it were black and dead, but would not fall off. The bark had carvings in it of symbols and words I could not comprehend and when it turned to face us it had psycho eyes and a mouth full of vampire teeth. It hissed at us and began to loom towards us.

"That's not a chameleon," Amy remarked shakily, stating the palpable.

I glanced down to my right hand and discovered that my stiletto looked rather dinkier than it did before. There was no way this simple butcher's knife could protect me against a fuckin tree. Amy's weapon had a better chance than mine and it held no blade.

Backing away, I began to search the ground for hopes of finding a dead spiritualist with a better weapon. The only one in reach that I could find had a machete. Well, it's better than my dulling knife.

I lunged towards it and a branch stretched after me. I seized the machete and sliced through the limb that was about to smack me. The creature screamed in agony. The branch fell to the ground in front of me and immediately the leaves on it ignited and exploded. I flew back into a wrecked house.

Ow… just like Kage's feathers.

"TAKE THIS!" I saw Amy cry as she leaped into the air and battered the tree right in the face. It stumbled over and fell onto the mucky red ground and the leaves went up in flames as did the tree. I covered my head when it detonated and chunks of wood and teeth flew at me.

I peeked out of my protective arms to find that Amy was standing by the pit of fire with a smirk on her face. I sighed. She's destructive. "They're bombs." I concluded while I walked towards the pink hedgehog.

She nodded, "Walking bombs."

We heard blasts from the entry of the village. "Better go help," I told her. When she nodded in agreement, we headed towards the entrance once more. We soon joined the fight with several spiritualists against on coming trees that emerged from the forest before us.

One of the spiritualists, a husky, saw us and ordered, "You two need to get to the haven now. This is no place for children."

"Children!" Amy shouted aggravated. "We are not children!"

The pink hedgehog shrieked when the husky was blown in half by a leaf that had been discarded by a tree. I retched. Seeing his intestines and body organs flinging through the air was not a pretty sight. I readied my machete. I was not going to end up like him.

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_Depths of Mori Mura_

Ero's POV

"You two are filthy," I cried, looking Kage, who was grinning like a maniac, and Nekosa, who was staring at the black kitsune, "are you guys rolling in blood or something?"

"The chameleon monster," Nekosa began, but stopped when he turned around to point at it. "What the hell!"

The large chameleon monster was no longer intact. Instead the skin was tearing off of it and in several seconds the skin balls would form into new shadow chameleons. They glanced around to find their surroundings, but did not need training to know their objective.

"Hey," Kage said, talking to Nicole and me, "we have to get to the Temple. This thing obviously isn't the leader. You two okay here by yourselves?"

A smirk formed on my face, "Of course. Dealing with you is harder than this!"

The black kitsune gave me a dirty look, but Nekosa and him were gone when the chameleons were able to attack. I readied my axe. Just another day…

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_Entrance of Mori Mura_

Tails' POV

It was a mine field. Any leaf that came intact to anything solid would explode on contact. (Whoa, that rhymed. Sorry.) Amy and I did our best not to get separated, but with all the fire and blasts it was hard to keep together. The one good thing about the leaves was that if another tree monster was close when it exploded it would go up in flames and terminate itself.

"Tails!" Amy called, running over to me.

I smiled, "Hey, I thought I lost you in that last ---!" I was suddenly lifted by a branch that gripped tightly around my chest. I was lifted by the hanging branch willow tree and brought to its mouth. "AMY!"

"Uh, um, hang on, Tails! I'll get ya!" She cried as she readied her mallet. Then she charged and hit it on the right leg, making it unbalanced. It let me go and toppled over and got sucked in another tree's branches. Then I noted that the rest of the trees were in range of detonating.

"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" I screamed, grabbing Amy's arm. I looked around in hopes of finding a place to hide or run to. My eyes landed on a small river that ran right past there. It looked deep enough to put us all the way under.

"Come on, Tails," Amy said. We ran off towards the river and once at the edge line she grabbed me tightly and we took a deep dive into the river.

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_Mori Mura Temple_

Kage's POV

I was surprised and scared to find that no chameleons even wandered around the grounds of the Temple. If you don't seem any of those damn things during a raid like this in one place it's always bad. And it doesn't mean their gone either. They're somewhere. You just don't know where.

"Where are they?" Ass-Cat asked, keeping his voice at a whisper.

I shook my head slowly, "I don't know…" My palms began to become sweaty as I examined the area looking for any threats of lizards. No where. I fiddled with the handle of my sickle. There was only one place. I nodded my head at the Temple. "The Temple."

"Wha ---!"

The double doors of the Temple were knocked down and masses of chameleons began to pouring out of it. The windows broke one by one and soon the temple was overflowing with shadows.

"MEEP!"

I looked around to find Meep flying over to me happily holding a bag of bakuyakus. I grinned. Finally. He did a couple laps around my head and then dropped the bombs into my hands. "Bakuyakus, meep!"

"Thanks, Meep."

I opened the bag as the chameleons drew near and rubbed my sickle blade against the wick to make a spark. Soon the fume was ignited and I threw the bag into the mass of reptiles. "RUN!" I screamed, and began to sprint as fast as possible into the village.

Ass-Cat and Meep followed me and just when we turned the corner there was a giant explosion and pieces of the Temple flung through the air.

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_Depths of the river_

Tails' POV

The sounds of blasts were muffled as we sunk deeper into the amazingly profound river. I opened my eyes to see if I could see and what I saw was not a pretty sight. Bodies and blood floated on the surface. I closed my eyes so I would see darkness once more. Better to look at black than at blood.

I tightened my grasp on Amy's hand to assure myself she was still there.

_**A lot of people are going to be disappointed when they find out that…**_

I opened my eyes and looked around to see what was talking to me. It surely wasn't Shikyo – it was a boy's voice. But who? I racked up memory after memory and came up with a solution.

Keita.

But I knew he wasn't talking to me. It just didn't seem right if he was talking to me. It was a flashback, a vision, but only with words. It had to be…

_**I love you and I need you…**_

My eyes became droopy. Who was he talking to? I fought myself to stay awake. If I fall asleep I'll drown. But I couldn't win.

_HOW COULD YOU LOVE HIM! WHAT'S SO DAMN GOOD ABOUT HIM! _

Shikyo wasn't talking to me either. Dammit, what's going on? I need a picture. My eyes continued to close. I let them, finally giving up.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Depths of Mori Mura_

Kage's POV

"The leader's dead if it was in the Temple," I concluded happily.

Ass-Cat sighed, "I have to admit, that was pretty smart – for you at least."

I grinned, "I thought you don't give compliments."

"Shut up," he glared. I laughed. Ass-Cat hated to admit that I did something right or that he did something he usually wouldn't around me.

"NEKOSA! KAGE!" A voice cried in fear.

We both looked over to find French Cat running towards us. I sighed. She annoyed me. But I noticed that her eyes were not bright and wondrous, but instead packed with fear as she sprinted over to us almost in tears. Her arms were cut and her dress in tatters.

"Hein se passer?" Ass-Cat asked in panic, catching her when she reached us.

"E-E-E-E-E-Ero… Ero…" She whimpered.

I looked beyond the two to find Ero walking towards us with downcast eyes. He dragged his axe across the ground, which was not normal. He was almost walking like a doll. I took a step towards him. "E-Ero?"

He looked up at me, his eyes holding a mad look.

_He's mine now._

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………………… LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TANTRUM! Sorry….

Sorry this took so long you guys. Really I am. December is a hard month. Sure we have 2 weeks vacation in it, but the 2 weeks before that vacation is hell. Finals, finals, finals! Grrr… (stabs finals) They suck. I had to study a lot. I got A's on 4/5 of them though! I got a B- on the other one (math sucks).

Yah, fun chapter. Hooray for blood. Boo for people who don't like blood!

Oh, oh, oh, need to advertise. Attention all readers, I have a friend name Sage of Darkness on I met them when funk emailed me telling me that their story is called Darkness AFTER Dawn and wanted me to check it out to make sure (s)he weren't copying. I did and thank God (s)he wasn't. But they're story is really, really good so read it. It's called Veiled Intentions. Read it. Read it now! RIGHT NOW! (Hits all readers with whip) READ NOW MY SLAVES!

(Cough) Uh… right. Happy Holidays. Bye.


	37. Chapter 36

You've read about them for 35 chapters, but in this chapter, the unthinkable someone…

(Shows picture of Ero)

Will…

(Shows another picture of Ero)

DIE!

(Shows yet another picture of Ero)

Shikyo: (Hopeful) I sure hope its Ero. (Starts plotting death)

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Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 36

Kage's POV

_It's _your _fault I picked him, _Shikyo told me in a matter-of-fact, but mocking voice, _I gave you warnings, but you would not heed them, but now that I have him maybe you will LISTEN. _

I stepped back, almost knocking into French Girl and Ass-Cat, and Ero took a step towards me with a rabid grin placed upon his bloody face. He gripped the handle of his axe tensely so that in one simple stroke he could behead anything or anybody.

_Though the idea _was _false, I liked the rabbit's thought that if you killed the leader then the chameleons would abandon the raid, _Shikyo told me, chuckling softly. _So I put it into play. But here's the catch, Kage… _he's _the leader, and to make the chameleons go away you have to kill _him.

I tried to stay calm though I could feel myself shaking inside and out. I turned to Ass-Cat and French Girl, who were both looking at me for guidance. "Leave," I ordered them, "I'll take care of this."

"Leave?!" Ass-Cat cried, anger building in his voice. "I'm not going to leave you to deal with this! You'll kill him! He told me you kill Swap-deck, so I know you'll just kill him too!"

I took in a deep breath so I would not start screaming at the gray cat. Does he think I really want to do this? Bastard. Why would I want to kill my best friend? And he thinks I killed Swap-deck mercilessly and enjoyed it?

_The captain's death was amusing, _Shikyo remarked with a chuckle.

'Shut it,' I told her, finally getting sick of this. I gave Ass-Cat a hard glare as my answer back to him and repeated myself. "Leave," I commanded to them bleakly while turning back to face my mad friend, who was not ceasing his approach at us despite our bickering. "Go find the runt and his girlfriend. Now."

"If I come back and he's dead…" Ass-Cat threatened.

I sighed. "I can't guarantee anything. Now go."

I closed my eyes as I heard their footsteps fade into the distance. I need to concentrate, though it seemed impossible thanks to the fact my friend was about to fight me in hopes of delivering me straight to Shikyo – and that I might even have to kill him.

_What are you going to do_, she asked, _kill him? Even _I _wouldn't kill a friend. _

I gripped my sickle with both hands as I took a step forward. I forced myself to push all thoughts of us being best friends since day one out of my head. He was now my enemy… now my enemy… and all my enemies had to die.

* * *

_Entrance of Mori Mura_

Tails' POV

My throat cringed in pain as I coughed up some water from my lungs. I struggled as a lack of oxygen came to my chest, but after a few breaths I was back to inhaling and exhaling air normally.

I was about to open my eyes, but pain exploded from my head that made me want to scream. Though I was used to headaches, even migraines, by now, this one made my brain feel like it was being crushed over and over again.

"Tails… Tails, wake up… please wake up!" A voice called from beyond the darkness. I slowly opened my eyes. She was first in fours, then in twos, but finally I got a solid picture of Amy, who was leaning over me with sadness and worry racing through her green eyes. When she saw I was awake, the fret and grief left her and she tears sprang to her as though she had just witnessed a miracle. "Tails, thank God you're okay!" She immediately pulled me into a rocking embrace.

"What… happened," I asked, my memory hazy. All I knew was we were both soaked by water. I took a look around her shoulder to find bits and pieces of spiritualist and bomb trees everywhere around us. I glanced at the dirt path leading into the forest to find fifty or sixty trees were no long surrounding it, but were instead uplifted to help in Shikyo's raid. I took a deep breath and my chest rattled in pain.

"We were fighting those tree bombs and when we ignited one that would set off the rest we jumped into the river," she answered, stroking my hair lightly, "and when I looked over to see if you were alright you were passed out. I thought you had drowned, I thought you were dead, and I thought I lost you!" She burst into more tears and buried her face into my shoulder.

Without thinking I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. I whispered in her ear softly, "Don't worry… I'm here… and I'm never leaving…"

_Temple of Mori Mura_

Kage's POV

I blocked his attacks to the best of my ability as we fought in front of the smoldering Temple. Ero was not as easy as the other possessed victims I had fought before, especially since he trained under the same master I did and knew my tactics like the back of his hand. I knew most of his strategies also, but this time all he would do was try to distract me and then grab me from behind. I hate blind attacks. They suck.

Though I had focused all of my willpower, all of my strength, to forget him, lingering memories hung around the back of my mind. I just couldn't forget. I couldn't forget the bastard… Ero… crazy guy…

FLASHBACK

_"Hey, Kage, there you are!" _

_I looked up my book and glanced over my shoulder to find Ero walking towards me. He didn't seem as happy as I would have expected him to be and I groaned when I saw him angrily carrying a pouting Meep under his arm. I looked back to my book, not even wanting to know what had happened. _

_Of course, I had to hear anyway. _

_"Your stupid Chao here tried to kill me!" The rabbit informed me angrily, glaring at the Chao. "Or at least threatened to!" _

_I chuckled, deciding to look up at him since his shadow was now blocking the light on my book, "He threatened you. A Chao who can only say 'meep' threatened you. Care to elaborate, Ero?" _

_He pointed to Meep, "Oh, no Kage, this Chao can say much more than just 'meep'. He told me that I better sleep with my eyes open because if I don't one night he will behead me and give my head to you as a birthday present." _

_I stared at both of them awkwardly for a moment, then finally stated, "Listen, first off, you two don't have to compete for a spot of my best friend, because neither of you will ever be my best friend because you both are idiots. Secondly, Meep cannot speak, so you must have thought this up." _

_"You saying that I'm lying or I'm crazy or something?" Ero questioned._

_A sly smirk evolved on my face as I nodded slightly, "I sure do… crazy guy." _

END OF FLASHBACK

I felt a shock of pain scurry up my spinal cord when Ero jammed the butt of his axe into my back. I flew towards the ground, but quickly recovered from the fault on my behalf before he could lay a finger on me.

Perfect.

While he was still delayed from trying to grab me, I raised my sickle high to bring it down on the back of his neck to do a quick beheading. With all of my force, my eyes shut tightly, I brought my blade down to kill him off. But I never heard a scream, or a slice, or never felt blood fling into my face. I peeked to see what had happened.

The blade of my scythe was barely touching the hair of his neck. I told my body to bring the weapon through, to end it here, but I simply couldn't. Not to Ero…. Not to my friend…

_Kill him. Kill him and save the town. Kill him and save yourself._

FLASHBACK

_"Ha, I win!" I cried, smacking my training stick onto the back of Ero's neck playfully. I kneeled down and remarked smug, "If this was a real fight, I would have killed you." _

_Ero, who was on the ground at my mercy, groaned. "Yeah right, you couldn't kill a freakin soul. Especially not me." He pushed himself up and sat down in front of me._

_"I could kill you," I said, flipping around my weapon._

_The rabbit reflected over my words longer than I wanted him to, and then said confidently, but thoughtfully, "I could never kill you." _

_I caught the stick in my hand and stared into his eyes for a moment. "Nah," I chuckled softly, "I was kidding. I could never kill you either."_

END OF FLASHBACK

I jumped away from Ero and to a safe distance away from him. Though we had only been fighting for a few minutes, I was as tired as hell. The detail that I was in a match where I would have to end up killing my friend to save myself had taken a major toll on me. I quickly dodged his next attack though and soon found myself back in the mists of battle trying my hardest to avoid him from sneaking up behind me unexpectedly.

_Hm, finally I have tapped on your fear, finally found a weak spot… _Shikyo mustered. _But, my dear, it doesn't have to be this way… if you would just give up and give yourself to me then maybe I will let the rabbit live._

'No you wouldn't!' I snapped. 'I know the way you work, Shikyo. Once you have something you want you kill whatever you don't need that is connected to it.'

_So you really do pay attention to detail sometimes… Very good, dear, but obviously you can't multitask. He's right behind you!_

My eyes widened when an arm tightly rapped around my neck and made me gag. My scythe was knocked out of my hand and tumbled to the ground with a clonk. I struggled to get free from the rabbit's tight hold, but the more I resisted, the harder it was to breathe. Finally my body went limp and numb from a lack of oxygen and the only thing I could here was Shikyo's evil laughter booming in my head.

"Ah shit…" I muttered hoarse. This just wasn't my day.

_Face it, it's over. You're mine. All mine._

I took a deep breath and told her confidently, 'I'm not going down without a fight…' I took a look up at Ero, whose eyes were bloodshot and was panting at a rapid pace. I waited until he stared at me with a wicked-like satisfaction before I began to even get a word out to him. "Ero… do you remember me at all?"

I wasn't expecting an answer to escape from his lips, but paused for a moment anyway to see if there was any fault in his eyes or any sign of sanity that would come from his shaking body. When I got no reaction, I continued chokingly, "If you're anywhere in there… at all… then…." I paused to find words and catch my breath. Ero arm was tucked underneath my chin and pushing up against my neck forcefully enough to make sputtering a word quite difficult. "…. then… maybe you'd remember this…"

FLASHBACK

_"Ero!" I cried, stumbling about as I chased the rabbit through the forest. I was not very fast then, being the fact that I was around four, so even the rabbit's walk was quicker than my fullest sprint. _

_He did not look back when I called his name though. He just continued to walk without me, ignoring my pleads completely. _

_"Ero! Ero, wait for me!" I told him, quickening my pace. My eyes began to tear up when he still disregarded my voice and did not slow down, but only walked faster to keep his distance from me. "ERO!" _

_He glanced over his shoulder and I could see the smirk on his face as he snickered at my efforts of reaching him. _

_"Hey, wait!" I sped up to the fullest sprint I could, but did not take notice of my surroundings. I tripped over a rock the height of my ankle and fell face first into the ground. I gave out a yelp from the pain that sprang to my ankle from the fall. "ERO!" I cried, bursting out into tears. My eyes were hazy from the water flowing from them, so I could see nothing in front of me._

_For some reason though, I thought Ero had left me, just left me in the dust like he had been for the last ten to fifteen minutes. I felt something lift me up onto my knees and wipe away my tears. I blinked to find Ero. "…" _

_"Stupid, I wasn't really going to leave you. It's called a joke!" he told me in an annoyed tone. When he noticed that at my age a joke like that wasn't all too funny, he said, "I'm sorry. I won't leave you again. Promise."_

END OF FLASHBACK

I chuckled. Shows how much I've changed. I was forced into the reality of talking to Ero when I gasped desperately for air. I never knew laughing could take so much air. I glanced back over to him. "And you haven't left me yet," I informed him happily. Tears began to form around my eyes when he only gave me an insane grin and the notion that he wasn't listening. "But right now…" I told softly, reserving my air, "I feel like… you're… leaving me in that dark, scary… forest for… good…"

The grin that the psychotic rabbit once held was gone. This was the sanest he had looked in the past twenty minutes. I just had to pray…. pray that it was possible for him to overcome Shikyo like I had.

"KAGE!"

Ero snapped back into the mad mode as he glared over his shoulder at the figure standing behind us. He stepped to his right so he that his axe was facing it. I squinted to see who had called my name and yelled when I found out, "I told you to go find the runt, Ass-Cat!"

Ass-Cat stood determined with his Bo gripped tightly in his hand. "I know, but I came to make sure you both don't kill each other."

"Ass-Cat, leave!" I warned him. "This is between Ero and I. Don't get involved."

The cat began to approach us despite my caveat, "I don't need you to tell me what to do, Kage…"

_Perfect._

At this moment I realized what Shikyo was planning to do. She had set me up the entire time! It wasn't Ero I should have been worried about, but --- "NEKOSA!!!!!!!!"

**((((((Attention: **_I suggest that people with weak stomachs don't read this until it turns to Tails POV again, because I don't want anyone to review me and tell me they threw up, though I'm not sure book gore can do that… it will tell you what happened when you go to Tails POV so this part isn't necessary to read though I've been planning this since chapter like 26… Enjoy, I guess._

He stopped walking when he gagged. He put his hand on his neck to suppress the feeling, but retched again. His eyes began to turn a pearl white as his weapon landed onto the ground.

I struggled to get out of Ero's grasp, but the rabbit had me in a tight lock. The only thing I could do now was watch…

By now the gray cat was gripping his neck frantically as he began to quiver tremendously. Trickles of blood dripped of his chin, but with his next choke heaps of it flooded out of his mouth and spilled upon the ground like a cascading waterfall. He stumbled backwards when an oval object got suck in his throat. He wheezed in alarm as more gathered in his neck until he could not breathe. He continued to try to cough up the load stuck in him as his red body fluids still rushed out of his mouth and dribbled out of his eye sockets. Something plopped out of his mouth and fell into the pool of blood. The roundest blob drifted over with the blood that seeped to my feet. I gagged when I recognized the object. His pancreas. I wanted to close my eyes, but I could not take my sight off of the body organ and the dying gray cat.

Blood was pouring from his ears also now as his large intestate began to slither from his mouth to the ground. His wheezing was becoming terrifying to hear as he dropped to his knees in a puddle of his own fluids. He shook like he was about to burst.

_This is for taking you away from me!_

I whimpered as Nekosa threw up every last of his body organs as blood and other body fluids spewed everywhere. I closed my eyes when liquid and a slimy sack hit my face. Though everything was black to me I could hear body parts plop onto the ground and smell stench fill the smoky air. I ajared my left eye slightly to see that his stomach had smacked me and was lying on top of his pancreas.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I stared at the remains of my friend. All that was there now was a dirty rag of gray fur, a sickening pond of blood, and discarded organs.

Ero's hold around my neck became loose and I had to quickly grab onto it so I would not plunge into the ankle-high pool of red fluid and smash the stomach and pancreas. I knew Shikyo had given up Ero, but I couldn't look over to him because Ass - Nekosa's waste was distracting me all too much…

"What happened?" The rabbit asked, his voice completely normal as he glanced around at his surroundings. "Kage… what's wrong?" He questioned softly when I felt his gaze upon me.

I tried to answer him, but I could only let out a choked gasp.

His surprised yelp filled my ears along with Shikyo's snickering and mocking.

_I win._

* * *

_Depths of Mori Mura_

Tails' POV

I was relieved when I saw that the town was ridded of Shikyo's Raid Armada and there were some survivors walking amongst the wreckage. Maybe Ero's leader theory was correct – Shikyo's chosen leader of that particular raid was the heart of it. I wasn't sure though. Maybe the bitch had accomplished what she had wanted to do before the town was completely annihilated.

I grasped my machete in one hand and Amy's hand in the other while I searched the masses of dead bodies and survivors for any sign of Kage, Ero, and the others. I had a feeling if they were anywhere they would most likely be hanging around the Temple, which was sending up black smoke of defeat into the sky.

We passed by the hundreds of dead bodies that were being stacked and identified, though most were too mauled up to ever be recognized. Most of the surviving spiritualists of the town that were able to still move and help kept their composer despite carrying off their dead friends and family to their graves. Others mourned over their loved ones bodies and children stared terrified as they saw their relatives amongst the dead. Cries and the feeling of grief and sorrow filled the murky air.

We stepped over puddles of discarded blood, organs, fur, and flesh that laid across the ruins of the forest town. Broken weapons and pottery stuck in the ground and the town standing for these people's memories was crushed.

When we arrived at the Temple I stopped. Amy ran into me. In front of the Temple was Ero with a bag. He was standing in a pond of blood and was picking up particular round objects and shakily put them into the sack without a word. I took note of the gray mob of fur that was lying limb in the center that Ero seemed to be disregarding at the time. I sighed and muttered, "Nekosa."

I lead Amy over to Ero slowly and waited until we got his attention. He looked up at us with down beaten eyes. "Hey," he said softly, trying to smile. He failed miserably. There was a moment of silence and then he asked, "Amy, could you do something for me?"

The pink hedgehog nodded immediately, "Of course."

The rabbit glanced over his shoulder at a figure sitting on the Temple steps, which were not destroyed, "Kage is a little freaked out right now. You think you could… you know… start up a conversation or something with him?"

"Yes!" She instantly rushed passed us and towards Kage, who was sitting slump on the middle of the staircase with Meep next to him. I could see the guilt in his eyes as I heard the muttered the Chao was spewing as he rubbed his master's hand in comfort.

I glanced at the remains of Nekosa and then to Ero, "Need some help…?"

He nodded in appreciation, "Please."

I bent down timidly and carefully picked up the deceased cat's brains. I quickly flung it into the bag and picked up another organ. And this was done in silence.

* * *

Uh, hey, everybody. What's shakin bacon? You know what's fun? We have flash flood warnings right now and I live bya river. Yeah, fun all around.

I need to tell you guys something… I got a review from this guy last chapter about "having fun insulting people" and a bunch of other things and I just needed to tell you guys I'm always kidding with you guys. Like yelling at Tantrum last chapter was a joke (last two reviews (s)he said the chapters were on the short side, so yah) Yah, so I'm always kidding with you guys because in the end y'all make my world go round and you all rock.

Speaking of the world, I need a favour from each of you. As you all have probably heard by now there was a record-breaking tsunami that hit coastal Asia about a week – and week and a half ago. Over 12,000 have been reported dead and millions have been left homeless with no food or clothes. This is one of the most awful, devastating disasters that have ever happened in Asia, which is already having some problems as it is. So I'm asking that if you have any spare change, any clothes, any toys, or any canned food available that you can give, please contact your local Red Cross or charity and send it towards places like India and Sir Lanka that have been hit hard. Though they live on the other side of the world they are our family too and need our help. So anything you can give, give. Thanks.


	38. Chapter 37

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 37

Tails' POV

The next few days plodded on with never-ending grief and sorrow. We had all voted to delay our return to Hatsu and aid the relief effort, though 'relief' was a dream no one here could grasp. Half of the population of the forest town of Mori Mura had been reported dead and most of the surviving were struck with disease or had become classified as mentally insane. Food was scarce because the animals had scurried deep into the uncharted forest and dared not to return to the place where the dark smoke of defeat rose into the air. The water was almost worst because blood had been merged into it and was running with infection.

The days were long and hard. From moving pieces of debris to searching for anything to eat wore all of the healthy, able people out. Not only was the physical work exhausting, but the deaths of the villagers and all the havoc surrounding us threw an emotional toll on us too. One of the days I had thrown up three times because it seemed that every time that I hoisted a block of rumble I would find someone, a nine to ten chance it was a child, with their head smashed in and their brains dripping off the brick I was holding. Everywhere you stepped here it was not on ground, but instead discarded blood and body organs. I had to keep remaining myself that this was not as bad as Descentmet, for everyone there died, but seeing the look on these people's faces told me otherwise.

The sick were isolated about a mile away from the city so the workers that were healthy would have less of a chance of falling ill. Still though, viruses filled the air of the village and everyday we would have to add more to the list of the sick and to the list of deaths. Thankfully Amy and I had our shots. Most of the diseases these people were dying from where easily curable with simple medicine. Others though were cases that not even the most educated doctor could fix. Because of the aliment floating around I had to keep a special eye on Kage and Ero, who were vital to defeating Shikyo and were easy targets for any bug.

A spiritualist by the name of Partsin took command of the ruined town. The citizens trusted him because according to most he was the Grand Elder's apprentice and was training to become the next Elder. He was a raccoon with a keen eye for detail and cared about the smallest child to the oldest man. He remained me of Sonic a bit, though he was calmer and smarter. He has the same determination and eyes I guess. He had a way with words that while he spoke words of inspiration and hope you just can't help but believe him, but after he was done it was back to the depressing atmosphere where people would break down crying when they found a loved one or hurt themselves because they're whole life was buried beneath the ashes. Partsin tried though. He wanted a funeral to be held for each and every person that was found, but the death toll finally got too overwhelming for it.

I had hoped that one of the modern towns around the Great Forest – preferably Knothole – would see the ascending smoke and come to our aid, but nothing came. This caused my nerves and my paranoia to rise. Either Knothole was completely oblivious to the black smoke that slinked its way into the heavens or Mori Mura was not the first annihilated town on Acorn. I childishly wished for the first one, but everything inside of me told me the latter was correct and Knothole has been a disaster site for a while now.

And with every passing minute of the day and every resting moment of the night my passionate hate for Shikyo increased. How could she do this to these people? They're innocent. They've done nothing to her. And whenever I did ask these questions to her all she would do was cackle and then make irritating riddles that she thought were amusing.

Bitch.

But while we were clearing rubble I didn't have much time to think about her. All I really could contemplate during the time was how fuckin tired I was from countless hours of labor and restless nights. The spiritualists helping would tell me, along with Kage, to go to sleep, but Shikyo was getting more dangerous and it could not be afforded. If we could I'm sure both of us would be out for a week.

Speaking of Kage, he's doing better now. It took him some time to break out of the shock he was in over Nekosa, but after that he acted as normal as he possibly could. I don't know if he is hiding the extra feelings deep down or he has actually gotten over it. After the gray cat died we had to knock him out so he would stop freaking out… in the morning we told him he had fainted and he amazingly trusted us.

At least he wasn't as bad as Nicole or Ero.

Nicole could not believe her brother was dead and she couldn't stop crying. Amy has had to comfort her for hours at a time and at points the tan cat would talk as though Nekosa was alive. It wasn't that she was going insane; it was just that the grief that was racking up in her body was too much to spare and she needed to boot it out somehow. I never had a brother so I could not state that I knew the dejection she suffered, but I vaguely remembered that I was in a depressed stage related to her's when my parents were slaughtered by the deceased Eggman.

Though he was sad about the passing of Nekosa, that wasn't the thing that troubled Ero. What really got to him was the fact that he let it happen. I have heard him several times remind himself of the phrase 'fate is fate' that he had told us when Swap-deck was eradicated, but he couldn't get it off his back that way. He wasn't the same rabbit the days that we stayed to aid the relief effort. I noticed a strange new glint in his eyes while he helped move the wreckage one piece at a time. No one else took note of such a thing because they speak more than they observe and that he did not act differently. Of course, at the same time, he could not afford to flatter. He was the strong one – the big brother I guess you could call him – to Kage and many others and if they saw him break… well, it wouldn't be pretty.

We did stumble upon ways to pass the time and overlook our position for a while, though. Amy and I at one point concluded that Ero and Kage's bickering moments were very closely related to a married couple's fights. So whenever their brawls got irritating I'd just lean over to Amy and say 'they're having a married couple's fight – aren't they just so cute together' loud enough for them to here. They'd immediately then stop fighting and instead start yelling at us. Hey, the rest of the spiritualists around thought it was funny. Guess they just don't have a sense of humor.

But on the last day we were there Kage devised a plan to get back at us – damn sly kitsune. He was gone the day before and none of us could find him. Ero stepped up and said he was fine and quickly got us back to work (traitor). The next morning he was back with a wide grin on his face and hands behind his back saying that he brought good news. I should have suspected the grin as a billboard saying 'I'm going to prank your ass,' but I was dreadfully tired and didn't have the brain power to think of such things. So Amy and I, being the modern world idiots we are, run up to him really believing he had great information.

He's response to our inanity was whipping out the skunk he had behind his back and forced it to spurt us both in our faces with its reeking output of gooey crap. All I could do was stare at him in disbelief while Amy shrieked and hit him as Ero and Meep screamed in laughter in the background.

It took forever, especially with the lack of clean water, to get the smell out.

Everything except for that was on a very serious scale. The whole fact that the town was in ruins and the population was quickly dying out did call for a somber atmosphere. There would be times that for hours no one would talk and it got extremely lonely – well, not exactly lonely for me, since I had good-ol-bitch Shikyo to keep me company – and annoying. Sometimes I felt like screaming out and doing something stupid so someone would talk, but Kage would pull that off first. And the first person talking would usually be Ero hitting him with something screaming at him to stop being an idiot.

After a week of helping, we decided that it was time to get back to Hatsu. We really wanted to stay and help more – even maybe get over to Mobotropolis to get some modern technology in to save lives – but we all knew there was no time for such drastic actions. We had to get to Hatsu or Shikyo might do even worse to this town…

So we packed up or things and said our regards and goodbyes. And as we left the ruins of the village on our way to a certain castle then was only one thing I knew:

All that answers lay in one place.

A fire.

* * *

….. I know, okay… I know its only three pages… (plugs ears and screams out loud) I'M NOT LISTENING TANTRUM! I swear, this chapter was going to be the death of me! I wrote every single day from January 7 till now – every day – and still only got this far. I have a bigger writer's block than Saddam's ass (… see, I can't even think of any good one liners! Gah!)

But good news is while I was beating up this chapter and swearing to kill anything that told me to continue it I was able to get a good thought on what is going to wrap up this story – and my next one (which I'll tell you guys about later). So this time I guess is better than I thought it would be. But still, this chapter sucks crap.

Anybody heard of Doom 3? Now that is a sweet game. My brother, who is 2 years older than me, is like freaked out from it but I play the demo I downloaded everyday. I'm so sick of those people getting possessed and attacking me. Can't they tell I'm going to whip all their asses for the 134th time?

Til later,

Kelsey

-

"_People who_


	39. Chapter 38

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 38

Tails' POV

"So, umm…" Kage muttered with a quizzical look on his face, "Why can't we use this boat again?"

We were back on the shore of sand and discarded fish skeletons looking upon the boat which we crashed about a week ago. It was still crushed into the rather large rock we slammed it into and from just glancing at it you could tell that over the course of the time we were away it had become the home to several animals and who else knows what. I knew that we shouldn't have parked it so poorly, but – wait, did Kage just ask why we couldn't use the boat? I would usually leave someone else to yell at him for being slow, but I was in a bad mood so I was about to curse his stupidity, but Ero beat me to it.

"The whole front is fuckin smashed in, dumb-ass," the rabbit screeched in irritation as he slapped the slow black kitsune off-side the head. "We'd sink before we got off the shore!"

Kage stared back at the boat after growling at Ero, "… Whoa, you're right!" He smirked and while walking away from us said, "I was just testin ya."

The rabbit gave out a groan of annoyance as he followed Kage down the coast along with the rest of us. Amy, who was also not in the greatest of moods, said to me, "If you still think he's smart I'm going to smack you."

I chuckled. Kage could be one of the cleverest people I have ever met – of course, only if he wants to be. Other times either he is a complete sarcastic bastard or a bit slow. But everyone had one of those slow moments, including Ero and Amy, so really they shouldn't be criticizing.

"We can always take one of Swap-deck's boats," Kage told us while leading us towards the captain's beach house by several docks, "they're probably faster than that old wreck back there any day."

"Great, first you kill him, and now you're stealing one of his boats! What next? His brain so you can be smarter?" Ero sneered.

Kage glanced over his shoulder and gave him a 'don't-you-even-dare-say-anything-else-or-I'll-rip-your-tongue-out' glare and the conversation was immediately over.

None of us were in a great frame of mind, now speaking of it. We were exhausted from endless hours of trying to revitalize the village and watching people's lives fall apart before our eyes. Now we were not only searching for answers, but also for revenge.

Revenge for the town.

Revenge for Nekosa.

Revenge for a brunt kitsune.

And revenge for ourselves.

To get revenge, Nicole had decided to come along for the ride. We tried to tell her that wasn't the greatest of ideas, but she would not hear a word of it. I didn't blame her though. If Shikyo killed one of my brothers (if I had one, of course) then I would have the determination she suddenly gained, get pissed, and want my vengeance for his and my suffering.

A thought of the Sonic Team fluttered into my head when I thought of brothers, but I forced myself to push it out. After seeing all of this I knew there was no way any of them, give or take Shadow, could possibly be alive. The bitch didn't have enough patience to keep them living, even if it was for her own amusement. I didn't want to tell this to Amy though, who prayed for their safety to God every night. My pessimistic views would only make her give up the hope that has already escaped me.

We arrived at Swap-deck's… well, deck… where the many fishing boats were kept. There was a debate of which one to take out across the Gulf among us because all of them were in pretty bad shape because it seems that the shadow chameleons thought of them as food. Bite marks lined the brim of the vessels and some had the inside was torn so inadequately that water seeped in the bottom.

"Blanc," Nicole said, pointing to the white boat, which seemed in pretty decent condition. She skipped over to it, but let out a yelp when a small shadow chameleon about the size of a small terrier dog skidded out of it. It didn't try to attack us or it barely noticed us as it scampered between our legs.

I would I have let it leave if I was not feeling terrible and morbid, so instead I took the pleasure of smashing its head in with my foot. I was sick of those things anyway.

"Someone's morbid today," Amy remarked. I was surprised that she wasn't raising her voice about doing such a thing and was instead was remaining completely calm. Guess this trip has changed some things about us.

I was about to say something back to her, but Kage wrapped his arm around my shoulders and announced cheerfully, "He learns it from the best – me!"

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Ero asked.

"Shut it!" The black kitsune snapped.

I nestled myself into the wooden bench that was nailed to the side of the white fishing boat. Even though we found that it had been home to a few lizards, it was still the one in the best of condition. The waves were bumpy and every single time we hit one we would fly out of our seats and land painfully back on them. A fishing boat was not the best choice for going all the way across a Gulf, but it was the only thing we had.

There had been silence on the boat except for a few under-the-breath cusses about the rough ride. I strived to say something, but everything I thought of sounded dorky and stupid. What really was there to talk about? I couldn't just lean over to Kage and say 'hey, how's life goin?'. My head would be off before I could say anything of apology.

Finally, when the waves ceased a bit, Ero, who Kage put up to driving, looked over his shoulder back at all of us. "If anyone is as confused about this whole Shikyo situation as I am, please raise your hand."

Everyone except for Nicole, who could not comprehend the English, shot up their hands. The tan cat soon followed after a quick explanation in French by Amy. I had never thought about that. Gosh, I never realized how puzzled I was until Ero mentioned it. Everything about the dilemma suddenly pounded into my head and it began to hurt.

Amy quickly came up with a solution, "Let's add everything we know up and start from there. Maybe one of us knows something that might help…"

There was a moment of silent consideration before Kage started clapping, "Good job, Bratness, for once you're useful."

"Shut up, idiot," the pink hedgehog snapped.

Ero hushed them both, "Let's focus here, all right. This could be a breakthrough…" Once everyone was quiet, he began, "Okay, what do we know about Shikyo?"

"She's a bitch," Kage and I answered in unison.

The rabbit groaned and I could tell that he knew one of us was going to say something along those lines. "There will not be any 'Shikyo's a bitch' discussions during this conversation," he stated.

"Fine," I said, "Shikyo's a whore."

I got a good laugh out of Kage on that one.

Amy clamped her hands over Molly's ears (which I don't see why because we talk like this all the time) and screamed, "Tails! How dare you! I can't believe you actually sunk down to Kage's level! I'm disappointed!" I mentally took back my statement about how Amy had become calmer about things that I said earlier because I was wrong. Very wrong.

"My level?" Kage yelled aggravated.

"Stop arguing!" Ero cried and the debate went to an end. He breathed, "Okay, restatement. There will be no name-calling during this conversation. Let's start over."

I chose to become serious and I started the beginning of a lengthy talk, "Shikyo's former name was Ai Muraoko and she was engaged to be married to the 10th Watcher, Keita Hanari."

Kage broke in before I could get to the fire, "She was known as the Priestess of Mirion Rampu – the place the modern world seem to call the Land of a Million Lights – until she moved in with Keita. She was obviously a very respected person in society – if she wasn't she wouldn't know Keita personally."

_Then how do you know him? _was the question I wanted to ask, but I knew this was an inappropriate time. So I decided to let him continue.

"She was mostly known for her theories on Dream Worlds and supernatural summon beings," Kage informed us.

"That explains a lot," Ero muttered.

I took Kage's place talking, "Ai and Keita were supposed to be married, but… there was a difficulty in the marriage. From what I understand it seems as though Keita was in love with somebody else…" I looked at Kage for conformation. He nodded. I was going to continue, but I stopped for a second. I glanced back up at Kage. "You happen to know who this person was?"

He shook his head, "No idea. He would never tell me."

I nodded. "All right." That was a bummer. That might have been a big advance in this, but obviously we had no idea. "So Ai did not take it that well. She did something she knew Keita would not be happy with to get back at him." I didn't dare say anything about the… night. I didn't want to get the black kitsune uncomfortable with talking about this. He knew a lot of things we didn't. "So Keita decided that he would burn down the house – ending both of their lives."

"But things didn't work out as planned," Kage said, taking over, "they both made it out alive while only innocent lives were lost. We don't know what happened to Keita after this except for sometime he was found by Mori Mura's Grand Elder, but Shi – Ai was taken in by the Watchers." He took a deep breath. "Now, I want everyone to erase everything I said in Descentmet about Shikyo and the Watchers' relationship out of your head because I was lying."

I sighed. I had a feeling about that.

"Lying?" Amy asked. "Why would you lie about something like this!" I could tell she wanted to reach over and smack him, but she restrained herself… barely.

"Because that's what _they _thought happened," Kage answered calmly; barely noticing the hedgehog's twitching, "but really it was the other way around. She must have made the illusion that they had the upper-hand, but really she was playing with them like dolls. For three years until recently she was actually ruling the spiritualists."

"That's freaky," Ero shuttered.

The black kitsune nodded. "Yeah, I know…" He continued, "But during that time she had other plans. She decided that she wanted to create a Dream World like the ones she studied, except… this one would be different. She wouldn't create it in her mind, but instead drag the whole planet down into the oblivion of it and make the inhabitants into 'perfect creatures'."

"What are the perfect creatures exactly?" Amy questioned.

When I noticed a slight discomfort from Kage, I immediately intervened, "Let's ask questions at the end." Even the most minor distress I did not want him to have. I would like to know more about the creatures, but they could be saved for a later time. I began up the original talk so we could move on, "Over the past three years she has been planning out everything from the invasions to how exactly she wanted to carry out the slow process of creating a Dream World. Finally, three months ago when everything was ready she began to wage her war against Mobius…"

"She started off in the place closest to home – central Hatsu. She whisked away the Queen so that she could get national and even international attention," Kage explained, "She wanted to be known as a threat then, but still needed to be underestimated. When the troops from Hatsu Kingdom set out on the search for their Queen, she decided it was time to kill three birds with one stone. First, destroy her first victim – Forestine. Second, to make Hatsu and the world more aware of her existence. And third, drag out the people she needed for her plan – who would, sadly, be us."

"Soon afterwards she took out the city that drove her to insanity – Descentmet," I told. "She took out not only its existence, but the whole spiritualist government, which obviously hit that nation hard. Then Fall Tip was annihilated and after that Mori Mura. Beyond that we have been isolated from any other information on raids. Those, though, we'll learn once we get back to Hatsu."

"What about Keita?" Amy asked.

"The runt said no questions," Kage growled.

She fought back, "I don't know what you two are blabbing about. Questions are needed for this sort of thing!"

"Keita no help," Meep said, sitting on Kage's head remarkably having a long enough attention span to listen to the conversation. "No help at all." I found it interesting that he said this in a dull, intelligent way like… eh, never mind.

"He would have been if he wasn't so mauled and unresponsive," Ero stated. "He picked a really bad time to burn himself to death."

We all silently agreed.

"We know that the chameleons are actually made from the souls of the dead," Amy remarked, changing the subject she actually brought up, "and when not possessed are… well, as normal as they possibly could be."

"Yeah… but the souls of whom?" I asked.

"The people she's killed," Amy answered in a factual tone.

"I would understand that in Fall Tip or Mori Mura, but she had only killed about four hundred before Descentmet… I know when I was with the surviving troop of Hatsu's search team they said that they only spotted the shadow chameleons once and they only killed a few. The rest of the group was possessed and driven to lunacy."

"Forestine was not attacked by one chameleon," Ero commented.

"We were encountered by a ton of them on the way to Descentmet when we found the Queen though," Amy argued.

"Million in Descentmet," Meep observed.

"Maybe between the time we left Hatsu Kingdom and got to Descentmet another town or two were ruined on a different continent," Kage guessed.

I debated, "But wouldn't we have heard them talking about it in Kiwi? A town being whipped out by insane people would be a big deal…"

He thought for a moment and shrugged, "I dunno!"

"Maybe she's killed before this," Ero presumed.

"That's a possibility, but when? The world would have noticed if a million people just suddenly croaked and turned into chameleons," I stated. I glanced at Kage, "Do you have any idea how old Shikyo is?"

The black kitsune took his time to think and answered, "Well… from what I heard she's the youngest of the Priestess', so… the Priestess of Mori Mura was… eh, about sixty… five, right?" He looked over to Ero for verification.

The rabbit nodded, "Yeah… round there."

"So Shikyo really hasn't been alive for that long… much younger than Keita, that's for sure…" Kage responded to me. "Most Priestesses reign for about two to three hundred years. She dropped out of her position for Keita though. Bad choice."

"All right," I mused. "The chameleon situation is a dead end… we'll have to figure out a bit more about Shikyo's past before we get into that."

We were about to start a new subject, but Ero made a comment, "This is making me only more confused…"

"You're always a bewildered freak," Kage stated plainly.

The rabbit glared at him, "Do you know how many people want to kill you right now? A lot. I'm about ready to take the honor myself, so sleep with your eyes open, shit-ball!" He turned back to driving with a gruff.

I sighed. We were all a bit snappy and moody today, as I was saying, and this showed it. Ero usually wouldn't be making full-hearted threats like that – even when Kage got onto his last nerves.

"Face it," Kage groaned, slipping into an informal slouch in his seat, "even though I knew the bitch- I mean _Shikyo_," he quickly glanced over to Ero to see if he got any negative response, but when he didn't he continued forward, "she still has us trapped in a cage like rats. We still barely know anything."

"Except for why she went insane," I said, stating out the main objects I drew out of the conversation, "and that the chameleon dead soul thing has a flaw to it that we need to figure out…"

"Flaw in fire," Meep said.

"'Cuse me," the black kitsune asked, raising an eyebrow. I could see that everyone was staring at the Chao for an explanation. We did not expect anything good out of him, but this was what we got:

"Priestesses and Watchers destroyed by element," the beast told. "Shikyo death element fire, Keita with water… why Shikyo make creatures die by fire and raid towns with fire Meep don't know."

Ero blinked and finally muttered, "Amazingly… that's a good point."

I nodded, "Why make everything you created die by the same thing – and a thing that can be easily produced may I add."

Kage said, "Just another loop in the game."

"A loop we need to figure out as soon as we possibly can. Something just is not accurate about that…"

After that our conversation was mostly just whipping around the same subjects and reaching the same ends. I thought that discussing this topic would do some well, but I was left with more perplexity than what I came into it with. The chameleon and fire situation had my mind racing. Something wasn't adding up with this whole thing. Something was missing, and that something we needed to know. It was vital to the world's survival and I felt the pressure of finding it out coming on. If one of us didn't then the world was doomed. That's a lot of stress for sure.

My eyes lightened up when we saw the landline though. More thrilled actually than when I saw the coast of Acorn. I could see the smoke still rising from Fall Tip, but it was not as thick as Mori Mura's...

"Well, we're back," Amy told us, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Nous ici! Nous ici!" Nicole cried, jumping around and pointing to Hatsu.

The rabbit glanced back at Kage with a goaded look, "How do you want me to park this, hmm? Run it into the coast – or how about going through the deck. That would be nice. Wood flying everywhere."

"Dock it," the kitsune groaned.

And that's exactly what the rabbit did. He had a bit of difficulty parking it, but in the end he got it in with only a few scratches. When I stepped onto the dock I got sea legs and toppled backwards into Kage, who bonked me off-side the head, "Watch where you're falling, freak!"

"Freak? That's a new one," I remarked.

He was about to say something extra, but a loud cry blocked the silly conversation, "FREEZE!"

We looked to find a band of soldiers in full uniform with a wolf commander standing before us. They had the guns cocked ready to fire and were pointing at us in an unfriendly manner. We each knew that they were not just being that hostile to anyone that just happened to come to the shore and that they were looking for us.

"May we help you?" Ero asked, playing safe with his words. He glared back to Kage in a way saying 'don't-do-anything-or-say-anything-stupid-butt-hole' because he knew the black kitsune would start on a sarcastic note with these people if not warned.

"You are hereby under arrest. You all will be transported to Hatsu Kingdom immediately. You have the right to remind silent. Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law."

I winced when Kage decided to defy the rabbit's caution, "What if I don't have the ability to 'remind silent'?"

"_Kage_!" Ero snapped.

Amy sighed, "I guess we have a free transport back to the Castle."

I nodded.

_Hatsu Castle_

No POV

The princess of Hatsu, in a dark purple gown carrying a tray with a cup on it, opened the door to a shaded room in a proper and royal manner. The room as she could see was clamped with clutter, but she was able to find what she needed without even taking a step into the room. Her eyes fell on the silhouette in which was sitting on the windowsill looking to the bright blue sky. A faint smile appeared on her lips, "Sir Soran, I have brought you some tea as you asked."

The shadowed figure looked up and even though the glum covered him she could sense he was smiling, "Oh, thank you, Lady Joruri!"

"Are you sure that you don't want anything else for your services?" The Princess asked while handing him the glass. "After all, giving us Shikyo's location is a huge deal for us…"

The figure, which resembled the figure of a slim cougar, answered cheerfully, "As long as this is raspberry tea and you can find the black kitsune for me I don't need anything more."

"I will do my best."

Hey guys, sorry this took so long. Not only is it a long chapter, but I had to do this huge Language Arts project last week. Three essays that had to have five paragraphs. By the end of the day after working on those you just don't want to write anymore.

But anyway, I decided this chapter was needed. There have been a lot of confusion and things happening throughout these 38 chapters so I recapped it and brought up a few new things for y'all.

So yah, review.

And oh, Soran rocks my socks. (Wanted him in this since chapter 30).

Later days,

Kelsey

--

"_People who fight fire_


	40. Chapter 39

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 39

Tails' POV

I nearly toppled over onto Amy every time the jeep hit a bump on the torn-up blacktop road. I would hold onto the uncomfortable seat that I was sitting on along with the rest of my team, but my hands were closely bound by handcuffs. I did not see why we had to be brought to the castle like criminals – which I assure you we are not though we have had to kill a few.

Not only were the metal manacles irksome, but the entire situation was absurd and annoying. The soldiers – especially the officer who calls himself Captain Bryan – knew that we were completely blameless in every way and that the simple thing of putting bindings on the wrists of modern-dense spiritualists would send them into a puzzled and horrified daze. Damn, they though that they were in literal chains walking down the Green Mile towards their execution. I left Amy to reassuring Nicole, Ero, Molly, and Meep that they were not being put to death anytime soon when I actually had to tell Kage that I knew 5,923 that they did not work with Shikyo and were not bringing us to her. 'Course, all at the same time I could not blame they soldiers for their rash actions. After all, two of their towns in the last month or two have been slaughtered. But this here was ridiculous!

"Excuse me, _captain_," Amy remarked rudely after getting sick of the whole ordeal in general, "would you mind explaining to me why you have us – including a six-year-old girl and a Chao – in handcuffs, please."

Captain Bryan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, looked back to us and after examining us answered, "Our head general told me you fuckers were with Shikyo."

"Then your head general is a dumb-ass," I immediately replied dully. I would usually leave this part up to Kage, but he was busy being stunned by the trial and also I was pissed. I was tired, angry, carsick, and in handcuffs. If anyone could be happy in this situation, particularly after coming back from a week of cleaning up dead bodies, that person would have to be the living God, I swear.

"I would stop talking," Bryan commanded, "as I have already said, anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

I told him straight out, "We're not going to court. We don't have _time _to go to court! Once we get to the castle the Princess will release us from whatever stupid thing you have charged us with."

He sneered at me, "We'll see about that."

Once he turned around and there was a moment of silence between all of us, finally Kage had his moment to shine, "He's a fruit."

I chuckled, "What kind?"

"Eh… maybe a pineapple."

"You two are freaks, you know that," Amy asked infuriated though I could see the smile tugging on her lips.

"Pineapple freak!" Meep cried randomly.

"Yes!" Kage yelped as though he had discovered the cure of cancer. "That is his name. Pineapple freak. Good job, Meep."

"MEEP!"

I found it funny how even though we were in the core of the worst dilemma probably ever recorded in history that we could still joke around in such a way. Making up stupid little nicknames for people and skunks and other things. I need to make up a nickname for Kage… hmm, I'll think on that later. But going on, it was interesting that we could still laugh and chat like nothing has actually happened to us. And I promise, _bad _things have happened to each of us over this time together – or even before. I was happy that we could be laidback like this. Sometimes being mellow can make your brain start working.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a cell phone go off. I swear all of the spiritualists flew five feet out of their seats and almost screamed when the ringing of the device sounded off.

Captain Bryan answered it, "Hello?" After a second he said, "Oh, General Faron! Yessir we have caught them…" And the rest of the conversation was overlapped by the talking of the soldiers around us.

"So you seriously think that we are being put in jail?" Amy asked me.

I shook my head, "No way. Unless the Princess doesn't know about this, of course. Then we might have a problem."

"This is just not my week," Ero suddenly realized.

"Someone's slower than Kage," the pink hedgehog muttered.

She was yelled at the same time by both of them. Little did she know though I thought she was the slowest one. She's a step behind us on the entire conflict of Shikyo. At least Kage knows three-fourths of the time what he's talking about.

As all of them argued over who was slower, I tilted my head up to look up at the sky. My eyes widened when I stared up at it. Something… was wrong with it. It was distorted slightly; had a small flaw in it. Discombobulated in a sort of way that made me feel edgy and odd. It was darker blue, a tone of color that would make it seem as though it was mixed with blood. Maybe it was just me. After all, as Kage had quoted from Lewis Carrol's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, we're all mad here. Seeing the corruption and lunacy of the 'Priestess of Mirion Rampu' I have noted that that was more than just a quote said by a grinning cat in a children's book… it was reality.

"The sky seems darker today, doesn't it," Kage said, gravity in his voice as he stared along side me up at the world's ceiling.

I nodded, "Yep. Mean anything?"

"The Dream World is starting to form…"

I said after a second of quiet, "We're just going to have to stop it then."

He smirked and answered sardonically, "It will be a tragedy, but yep."

* * *

We were pushed into the throne room again like criminals. When would these people understand _we're _the innocent ones that happen to have a crazy bitch trialing them twenty-four-seven.

_I'm not trialing you _twenty-four-seven… Shikyo muttered, amused. _I take some time off. I have other affairs to deal with now, you know. _

I did what I have been for about the last two weeks now. I totally ignored her.

The King did not even notice us. He was hunched over a load of papers with another kitsune at his side. The other kitsune had a reddish que to him – like the Princess did. Maybe the Prince that I never saw? He was in a red uniform though with badges and a rifle hung around his shoulder. A general by the looks of it. Maybe the head general.

The wolf coughed, "General Faron, sir. We have arrived."

Both of them looked up. Before the general or the King could even speak a word I heard Joruri's cry from the other side of the room, "Get them out of those handcuffs! You're treating them like the prisoners they are not!"

"But, Milady," the wolf stammered, glancing over to the general.

"I said get them off. If the Guide sees them in this condition we might no longer _have_ a Guide. Now get them off!"

Immediately the soldiers began to slip their keys into the sockets of the metal cuffs and take them off. My wrists held a weird sensation of bitter cold after my manacles were taken off, but soon it was gone after I shook them to let out muscle knots.

Joruri rushed over and hugged me, "Thank God! I thought you were dead!" She held me out at arms length and looked me over. "You're filthy!" She glanced along the rest of us. "You're all filthy!"

"That happens," Kage muttered annoyed.

"You can't even be nice to a _princess_!" Amy screamed, shrieking literally at the top of her lungs. "You're the fruit!"

The black kitsune chuckled. I knew he had something up his sleeve to win the fight, "Then why'd you growl when she hugged the runt, hmm? Is there something you want to tell us? Bratness?"

"SHUT UP, KAGE! YOU SUCK! SUCK!"

He blinked.

"Don't… mind them," I told Joruri. I moved myself so I was in front of the squabble taking place. "What has happened here?"

"Too much to explain at the moment," she answered. She then looked uneasy, "But see, when my father got word that they found you, he -!"

"We're here, Milord!" A familiar voice called from the doors that lead out of the room we were standing it. I gave a glance over to who had announced their entrance and my heart dropped when I saw them. The doctors from National Mental Institute of Hatsu have arrived. Great. The head one laid his eyes on Kage. "Is that really the black kitsune?" he asked, adjusting his glasses to get a better view.

"Absol-bloodly-utely," Kage answered, putting back on his perfect British accent and mask. "I thought you would have forgotten about me by now. Pity."

The lead doctor marched right up into Kage's face, "Forgotten you! Forgotten the only insane person that has ever escaped our asylum? Impossible!"

"The only one?" The black kitsune question. He plainly pointed towards Ero, who was in immersing confusion over this whole ordeal, "He escaped too." The rabbit's eyes turned to fiery mass as he silently plotted the fox's death for revealing him.

The doctors literally screamed.

Choruses of "You're supposed to be dead! I saw you die!", "I disposed of your body!", "I remember you now!", and "Oh my God!" filled the room as everyone that had seen him before (including the Princess and King) began to freak out.

"I can explain!" Ero cried. "I faked my death!"

"Stabbing yourself in the stomach with a large piece of glass if _faking _death?"

As the room filled with chaos and confusion, I stood in the amiss of it blankly. It had been a long time since I had been in such a noisy, enclosed place and it made me dizzy. The clamor soon blended together and the room began to swirl. If someone didn't stop this soon I would black out. Though the room was spinning quickly I could see that Kage was in the same condition. This probably was from the major lack of sleep.

Whoever was the one that screamed "STOP!" at the top of their lungs was my hero. It took me a minute to force my vision and head to calm itself, but once this was completed I joined everyone at staring at the door to see who had interrupted the turmoil.

And there stood a white cougar. He leaned against the one open door with a soft, faint smile on his lips that would soon become his signature. Though there was a hint of bafflement in his dark blue eyes, they had a joking, humored bounce to them like he had been watching this the entire time. The tips of his ears were lined in jet black as was the fur encircling the apex of his tail. He wore a dark blue kimono that had a green belt tied in a weird way. He had a disturbing, yet soothing aura to him. If he was one to trust I couldn't tell.

He walked fully into the room, "Here you all are arguing, and you don't even invite me? I'm hurt!" His smile only grew when he looked around the room. He did not say this in a sarcastic way like the certain kitsune we all know, but light-hearted and jolly. By the way he moved you could tell he was a mellow, laidback person. Enjoyed things.

Joruri bowed, "I'm sorry, Sir Soran, that you had to see us acting so rudely."

"Eh, don't worry 'bout it."

Ero cocked an eyebrow, looking disturbed and annoyed as he examined Soran from head to foot, "Who are you?"

"Me?" He question, his smile flawless. "I thought you'd never ask! I'm Soran Scar. According to the Princess I'm some sort of 'Guide' or something."

"Guide to what?" The rabbit asked, unpleased with the answer. I could tell that Ero didn't like him though he had not even given the cougar a chance. Maybe he knew something was not right with him, but at the same time Ero was quick to assumption.

Before Soran responded, I noted that Kage seemed outrageously surprised by the cougar's entrance – as did Meep. Maybe they have not recovered from all the yelling or… did they know this Soran?

"He's our Guide to Shikyo's lair," Joruri answered for him.

Soran was on a totally different subject by the time Joruri replied for him. His eyes were on Kage. "What? Not a hug or anything? Aren't you happy to see me, K.G.?"

Kage's eyes lightened up as though he had just seen the light after a long isolation in the darkness. "SORAN!" The black kitsune let down every last guard as he ran into his arms. Meep came speeding closely after screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, how ya doin, kiddo!" The cougar questioned. He pushed Kage so that he could get a good look at him. "Oh my gosh, you must have grown at least an inch or two… or maybe not… but you seem taller somehow!"

I blinked. What was going on here?

Ero voiced my question, "What's going on here?"

Kage turned to the rabbit excited, "Ero, this is Soran! I met him around… two or so years ago." He glanced over at Soran. "Right."

He nodded, "Yep."

Ero just gave him a look, but Amy did not have any hesitation in introducing herself, "My name's Amy." She shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you, sir."

"Just call me Soran," he told her cheerfully. "I'm not a fan of titles."

"Excuse me," one of the doctors said, beginning to say something, "Kage!"

"You are dismissed," Joruri said, shooing them away. "There was no need for you to come here. We'll take care of this from here."

The doctors glanced looks to each other, but they obeyed the command in which the Princess gave them and soon were out of the throne room. I sighed in relief. Thank God they were gone. They annoyed the hell out of me.

So has the look the general has given us since the time we had come in here. He stared down at us like we were inferior for some odd reason. It would be funny to know what the King has told him about us. The King was the kind of man that probably exaggerates stories and other such things.

I did my best to ignore them both as I extended my hand to Soran, "Miles, but you can call me Tails…"

He graciously shook back, "Of course! Very nice to meet you."

"BONJOUR!" Nicole cried, getting the point that we were introducing ourselves. She jumped on Soran and hugged him tightly. "J'mapple (sp) Nicole!"

He blinked. Obviously he didn't know French. "Bon… jour?"

"Great that you all are chatting so freely with each other," General Faron said sarcastically, finally taking the time to talk just before Molly was going to introduce herself, "but we have more important things to do. Like maybe something related to helping our dying world or something at least _useful._"

"We are doing something useful," Kage snapped back, regaining every bit of his personality. "We're silently making fun of how much of a fuckin' dumb-ass you are while we put on this_ lovely_ scene to make you think differently."

"Excuse me!"

Joruri sighed and said, "Settle down," before the two got at each other's necks – which would have happened. "Arguing will do us no good either, General. You and your men our also dismissed. Return we you have a count of how many troops we have. Thank you."

Faron gave Kage a death glare, but then bowed to the Princess, "Of course, Milady." Motioning his men out, the general and soldiers left the throne room.

"K.G., did you have to be so mean?" Soran asked, the same goofy smile still planted onto his face. "He was just stating his opinion of things."

The black kitsune just gave his friend a glance.

The Princess drew our attention back to her. "I have many things to tell you. Come." I was suspecting the King to say something about then, but I noticed that a soldier had him busily distracted. We were not his biggest problem, after all.

We all followed Joruri through the twisted hallways and into a small conference room with a long table and chairs surrounding it. On the way I had some time to think. So Kage knew Soran, but from where? They met two years ago and he knows the location of Shikyo's lair. Coincidence? Don't think so. They must have met someway through Shikyo, but after that I was blank on how. Unless he has something to do with this entire mystery, which looking at him I think not. Just someone who knows where Shikyo is and knows Kage.

That couldn't be right.

We took our seats in the conference room and looked up to Joruri, who did not sit down. She took a deep breath and asked herself, "Where do I begin?"

* * *

Hey, everyone. I have no idea whether this chapter is late or not because I forgot when I put the last one up. But knowing me, it probably is. So sorry bout that. Again.

Only thing I need to tell you today is that done below this paragraph – yes, this very paragraph! – is a quote that I have had on the chapters for about… two now. Yah. Two. It looks like just a bunch of words (definitely since the quote is not completed yet) but it really can solve the entire mystery at hand. Yep. All of it. Everything. If you can find the quote online it should be as easy as cheese. So pay attention to it, please. It's the most vital thing.

Oh, one more thing. Remember, _everything_ has a reason. _Everything _is connected.

See Y'all Later,

Kelsey

"_People who fight fire against fire _** See that? IMPORTANT!**


	41. Chapter 40

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 40

Tails' POV

When the Princess had to ponder for over a minute where to begin, it bothered me greatly. Over this last two weeks we have been gone from Kiwi _that _much has happened? We sat in silence waiting for her to begin. We didn't hurry her up because we did not want her to forget a thing.

Finally, Joruri cleared her throat and began, "Over the course of the last two weeks while you have been gone, fifteen cities have been raided and destroyed. The cities from Hatsu that Shikyo's armies raided were Fall Tip, which you already know, and Kiwi. Fall Tip was a quick, brutal massacre like Descentmet, but Kiwi's situation was quite different…

"Approximately twenty-four hours after the fall of Descentmet, shadow _raptors _flew down the mountain by the thousands into Kiwi. Kiwi was wiped out in the matter of a half-an-hour. No survivors."

"Did you just say raptors?" Ero asked, making sure he heard things correctly.

The Princess nodded curtly, "Yes. We have no idea why Shikyo has been hiding her more elite forces for this amount of time, but it hit us with utter surprise. This only proves that we have further underestimated her." When she got no response, she continued on with her telling from beforehand, "Acorn had three cities hit: Mori Mura, Knothole, and Mobotropolis. Most of Acorn's armies were located in Mobotropolis at the time and were able to save the city from being totally annihilated, but the attack left their forces and capital damaged."

I wasn't as surprised as Amy was when Joruri stated that Knothole had been raided and destroyed. I had learned that when they did not come to help with the recovery of Mori Mura. She did take it better than I thought she would though, which was good. She covered her mouth to keep in the gasp or the choke that could make her start crying.

"Also, the Robo-Hobo Jungle in Acorn has been burnt to the ground. I am surprised that Shikyo didn't take the whole Great Forest down with it. The Overlander's Territory was struck too, but not as badly as the actual nation of Acorn. I consider the city they lost on the list of the fifteen…"

I noticed that the Princess was having trouble breaking all this to us. Her voice seemed strong and calm, but the tremor that shook her hands slightly told me that her heart was not handling this well. Poor girl. She probably had to take the rule of the Queen when her mother disappeared and was left to deal with one of the world's greatest tragedies with only her father to help.

She still continued on strongly though, "Mercia has five cities lost in the total of five days…"

When she said this, I saw that Soran's smile lessened, though it was still there, and his ears perked up. I would suspect him to be from Hatsu since he was obviously here, but from the looks of it he actually comes from Mercia – or his family lives over there.

"These cities were Zealcity, Questa, Charleston, Malad City, and Prehaman. Most of raids did have a lot of survivors, especially Questa. She hit Prehaman hard though so that no spiritualist would rise from the ashes. The Land of a Million Lights – Mirion Rampu, I think you call it… - was not hit at all though. Also, their armada was elsewhere so luckily their troop sizes were not cut dramatically like Acorn's or ours."

I saw a tinker of relief flow onto the cougar's features as he nestled back down with the full-hearted smile smacked upon his face. He took a pencil out of a pocket inside of his kimono and began to poke Kage with it. The black kitsune glanced over at him, took the pencil, and poked him back rapidly. No wonder they get along – both have major A.D.D. during important conversations. Well, I'm watching them, so really I should not be talking at all.

"Then Downunda suffered the last four. Their capital cities and all major costal trading towns were destroyed in the matter of two days."

I finally cut her off, "How many dead?"

She looked to me, "Excuse me?"

"What's the death rate?"

Her face grew pale as the room fell into complete silence. "A quarter of a billion," she finally muttered, bowing her head enough to hide her eyes.

I had not expected it to be this bad over the last _two weeks_, but it looks like I have once again underrated the bitch, which I really need to stop doing. I knew that she was serious about this Dream World before, but just now I have realized her true determination. She was taking us down like flies and truly, unless she herself is caught and killed there is no way we will survive.

To sum it up: This sucks big.

"Well," Amy said, finally breaking the silence, "has Shikyo contacted you at all?"

Joruri sighed and nodded, "She's sent chameleons to come and kill me a few times in the last week. I don't know why I'm such a bother to her…"

Interesting that Shikyo would actually take more than a few moments out of her time to see to the Princess's death. By herself she could not do much to harm her at all, could she? Joruri is training to be a priestess, but from what I've heard she is not far enough in her lessons to do anything _harmful_ that could foil the Perfect Dream World.

"Where are they usually attacking you from?" Kage asked, his eyes showing that he was deep in thought about something. When this happens either the black kitsune's mind is ticking with some genius plan that I would never have thought of, or he was just acting like a dumb-ass again.

"The throne room," the Princess answered, unsure whether she should actually give the information. "Why do you ask?"

The black kitsune stood up with Meep perched on his shoulder, "I want to see something… To see if there really _is _a flaw in Shikyo's system."

"Flaw?" Joruri asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Our highest intelligence has not found any error in her preparation at all, sadly. She has been planning for longer than any of us have expected and has probably gone over this plan a million times. She may be mad, but she is not stupid."

"No matter how perfect it seems," Soran said in a serious tone though the smile was still spread across his face, "there is _always _a fault. If there was none, then the world would be unbalanced…" His voice perked up, "And that would be a really big problem, wouldn't it?"

The Princess sighed, "Fine. Do whatever you need to."

* * *

I bit into my muffin as I sat next to Amy and Soran in the throne room watching Kage work. The last thing I was expecting was the black kitsune to be carving symbols into the metal floor with this sickle. I winced every time that metal struck metal and made a screeching sound. Amy gave me a weird look, but did not say a word as she sipped on her lemonade.

Soran didn't seem to notice really though as he gabbed off to the overly-attentive Meep (a miracle, I know) and Ero. The rabbit was giving the cougar a weird glare. I didn't know why Ero hated him so much. He was very friendly, someone now thinking of it should be able to get along with him perfectly. But the lingering fact that he somehow knew where Shikyo was still hung about my mind. But the thought about it was cleared with another squeal from the floor.

The King had been sitting in his throne for awhile going over papers. He would glance up from his work to take a look at what Kage was doing, but I could see he was trying to ignore it. That would be impossible. Finally, he looked up completely and yelled over the sound, "What are you doing to my floor?"

"Cursing it," Kage answered plainly.

I choked on my muffin. I thought he was kidding about this, but from the dullest in his voice I sensed that he was serious. What was he doing cursing a castle? More like, what was he doing cursing a castle that was helping us kill Shikyo?

The King was more alarmed than I was, "_Cursing_? What are you doing cursing my castle!" The papers flew to the floor as he stood from his seat to get a better look.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to invite any ghosts to your castle for a party tonight or anything," the black kitsune responded, shooing the King away. "I'm just seeing something important."

"Is it important enough to be _cursing _my castle?"

"Actually it is, though doing it for fun does sound entertaining."

Amy nudged me, "He's kidding right… he's not really cursing this entire place, is he? Tell me he's not, Tails."

"I think he's serious," I told her. I did not look to her while I stared at the King's expression as Kage continued his work like normal. Though the fox can be sarcastic and annoying at points, there were times when he was dead sober. I tried to think of a reassurance for her though, "Maybe cursing isn't like what we think it is… umm…"

"Nope, he's cursing it," Ero stated dully.

I glared at him, "Thanks, Ero."

Soran jumped up from his seat and walked over to look over Kage's work. He began to walk over the half of a hemisphere that the black kitsune was developing around the throne itself. "Wow, you memorized all this? I wish I had the time to do that!"

I stood up and made my way over to look at it myself. My eyes widened a bit when I looking over it. There had to be at least two to three thousand symbols which were done perfect in every which way. Lines were straight; circles did not have a flaw. I could never learn this in my free time, but I knew a spiritualist could. We learn math, they learn curses. They're almost alike I guess…

Except for some offhanded comments, for the next hour none of us bothered the black kitsune. We just waited… whether this was a good or bad thing I was not sure. Waiting sometimes reveals the answers you seek, but at the same time hesitation can be deadly. Some say it depends on the situation, some say that waiting means death. In a book a once read one of the characters was obsessed with the saying of _he or she who hesitates is lost_, but is that really true?

I really need to quit getting deep into thought about stupid things like _waiting_.

"I'm done!" Kage shouted, obviously proud of his look as he stood above it with satisfaction. I looked to find that the curse surround the rather large space in which the throne took up. What the black kitsune was going to do with it I still didn't know. I wanted to ask, but that was not a good idea. Kage was one to give surprises.

A smirk appeared on the black kitsune's face when the sound of sprinting footsteps could be heard outside of the throne room doors. "Let's test this theory, aye?"

Two guards and the Princess burst into the room. Sweat dripped down their faces as they looked over their shoulders at something that I could not see. "Raptors!" was the only word the Princess had to say. The two guards skidded into the half circle, but the Princess stopped just before it.

The raptors entered the room. Their eyes glinted a blood-deep color and their teeth were the size of butcher's knifes. They were as tall as full-grown horses and their claws resembled machetes. Red markings covered them as they sped for us screaming at a pitch that made me cover my ears in pain.

Kage grabbed the Princess and flung her into the circle, "Get in!"

The raptors ran towards us at an incredible speed, but the kitsune didn't seem to mind. He took up his sickle, cut himself across the palm with it and blood began to leek. With force his raised his bloody hand and smacked it onto the symbols upon the floor. The markings burst into a red light and right when the raptors stepped onto the hemi-circle fire ignited. The flames raised to the ceiling and maybe even beyond as the screams of the raptors' pain could be heard.

The fire soon ceased and all that could be seen was smoke and the charred remains of the raptors. The black kitsune lifted up his palm, which was smoking, and blew on it. He glanced back at us though his eyes hinted that he was staring at the Princess, "See anything wrong with that picture, Bitchess?"

* * *

Hey everybody… I'm not even going to start into the whole 'I'm sorry thing'…

Just need to tell everyone that the chameleon souls did not come Eggman's robots… so if that's what you were thinking, that's not it. Robots don't have souls. And, stop focusing on that flaw for a moment and look at the fire one. That's the important one.

"_People who fight fire with fire die in_


	42. Chapter 41

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 41

Tails' POV

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Despite having to clean up the charred ashes of the raptors, it was a relaxed day also. I did my best to forget about Shikyo and the whole present situation for a couple of hours and I enjoyed myself – something I have not been able to do for quite awhile. All of us had a few (cough) drinks and explored the castle. Amy, Soran, and I showed the spiritualists every technological object we could find including CD's, music players, television, back massagers, lamps, radios, phones, and more. It was great to see their awed faces after each one. Kage turned into a little child when he saw these things and would mess with it all the way until we showed him something cooler. We wanted to take them shopping, but the Princess would not allow us to leave the castle. We did find some sweatshirts and jeans for them to get comfortable in though. We all took needed showers, too. The day swept on by and was replaced by the night and the early morning. Everyone in the castle turned off their lights and fell asleep after a long day except for Kage and me. We stayed in the throne room, sat on the throne, and talked. I sipped my coffee while the black kitsune finished off his third beer.

"You know," Kage said, slamming down the empty mug, "I say we forget about all this crap everyone is freaking out about and go on vacation."

I chuckled, "You're freaking out about all the crap everyone is freaking out about too, Kage." I took the jug from him and pushed it away to motion that he no long needed beer.

"Yeah, but I'm freaking out about it in a _fashionable _manner," He told me. "Keita always said that anything can be done in that sort of way - said that if you get melodramatic about things or do something not unique in a situation you're as bad as the problem itself or somethin' like that."

I faintly smiled. We have been here for hours talking (seeing that everyone went to be at eleven and it was now two) and finally we have gotten to the topic I wanted to talk about: Keita. I've gotten Kage out of it enough to bring up the topic without him even caring – I hope. "Hey, Kage," I said casually, "how did you meet Keita anyway?" This was a good question to start out with. Yesterday he said that only high people in the spiritualist clan could even come in contact with a Watcher, and from what I have seen the black kitsune was not high enough.

He suddenly laughed, "Oh, that's a funny story! It was about four years ago…"

F L A S H B A C K

Kage's POV

_I did my best to try to comprehend what I was doing in Descentmet that day. Yes, I knew that I was here along with Ero and his father, but they were in some meeting with an Elder from somewhere while I was left out on the streets all day to fend for myself. Whether this was a good thing or bad I wasn't sure. Maybe they were secretly abandoning me for life or something. Or they could be planning a huge surprise party for me – yeah right. First one was definitely possible, but the second… _

_I walked through the streets of Descentmet in utter boredom. Odd that I was uninterested in a place that was my hometown that I don't remember at all, yet do not care at all. My stomach growled. Dammit. I'm so hungry and crazy guy and sr. crazy guy wouldn't be back for another hour or two. And again, they might be abandoning me forever, which meant that I might starve to death. Oh, that would be the worst way to die. I heard that strangling was the worst way, but starving was slow and very, _very _painful. _

_As I thought about dying and the worst way to do it, and also my very empty stomach, I heard a loud, yet muffled voice cry out something. I did not heed it, though I should have. At the last moment I glanced up to find a giant moa racing straight at me and ------_

R E A L I T Y

Tails' POV

"Um, Kage," I interrupted, "moas are been an extinct bird for over 800 years."

"Then how did one run me over?" He questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe it was your imagination."

He stood up and moved fur on his back to reveal a large scar that seemed to be a large scratch from a talon, "Tell me _that's_ not from a moa."

I sighed, "Continue."

"Thank you."

C O N T I N U A T I O N O F F LA S H B A C K

_At the last moment I glanced up to find a giant _moa _racing straight at me and before I could move it plowed me down. Worst pain in the world! Never will forget that bird's talon slicing through my back, it was terrible! Well, at least the driver stopped to see if I was alright. People gathered around whispering also. _

_Finally when I was able to speak, I screamed, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, YOU FUCKER!" The whispering ceased and there was silence. I glanced around. Why did everyone just get silent? Does no one use cuss words around here or something? _

_The person that got off the moa was someone I wasn't expecting. It was a short orange kitsune (though sadly he was taller than me) dressed in rather expensive robe. I didn't really care at the moment that he was high authority – he just ran me over! _

_"I'm so sorry," he began, his blue eyes shining bright with guilt. _

_"You better be!" I cried, rubbing my back. I didn't bother getting up though I wished that I could have stood up on my feet and punched him. "You could've killed me, git!" I felt some type of liquid on my hand and when I brought it up to see, both of us screamed. _

_"Oh my gosh, you're bleeding!" the kitsune cried. _

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

Tails' POV

"So he ran you over with a… _moa_… made you bleed and…"

He nodded, "Yep, and took me in to bandage me up. Of course, at first his guards were going to execute me because I called a _Watcher _a git and a fucker, but beyond the point."

I sighed and chuckled. I was expecting a simple, ordinary story about how they met, but instead though I got some whacked up tale with a _moa _in it. And sadly, I believed him. Nothing is impossible with spiritualists now.

When silence swept us over, I decided to ask the next question, "How was Ai like… you know, before the fire and everything?"

"Her cooking was incredible," he told me dreamily. "Best food you could ever eat in your life used to be made by her. When Keita said he didn't love her anymore, I was hurt because her cooking was so good!"

"I meant her overall personality, Kage," I said dully.

"Oh, personality, right…" He mused over this for a moment or two and finally began, "Though she was a spoiled, little bitch – thanks to Keita's pampering – she was nice; innocent. Never someone you would think would ever go crazy and try to make a 'Perfect Dreamworld' if that's what you mean. Keita and Ai were really in love. I mean, _really _in love and I was happy for them – though romance is not my thing. Whoever Keita fell for must have been one hell of a girl because to beat out Ai in his heart was a fuckin hard task."

I nodded solemnly, "Yeah… I wonder if the new love is still alive…"

"But her cooking was _fantastic_!"

I laughed. "That means she's the opposite of you right?"

He looked offended, "Hey, my cooking's okay!"

"Kage, you're pancakes suck. After this is all over Amy and I decided that we're going to get you cooking lessons. You really need them."

"That's just my pancakes! I had to fill in ingredients because the mad people around there decided to raid the cabinets while they were killing each other for Shikyo, okay."

"Sure, Kage, _sure_."

"Shut up!"

Before that black kitsune could get too mad at me I continued my questioning. I picked one that he probably wouldn't have told me if he was sober. "Where did you meet Soran anyway?"

His face suddenly turned pale. Dammit, wrong question.

I tried to cover up my mistake, "Forget that question. Uh, how about ---!"

There was an earsplitting pound that came from the throne room doors that made us jump. Kage was dazed from the alcohol and here I was to defend myself all alone against the thing that was going to enter the room – unless I can get Kage to be sober in 3.5 seconds. I tried though truly it could not be done, "Kage! Kage, snap out of it! Something's here."

He stood up though it took him a few moments to find correct footing, "I heard it, I heard it. Geez! Freak out about _everything _why don't you? Stupid runt. At least freak out in a fashionable manner."

I sighed. He was most definitely not abstemious.

The throne room doors busted open and in walked in someone I was not expecting to be alive. Big the Cat. He was covered in blood and his right eye was scooped out from his sockets though they were still hanging from the nerves attaching them to the brain. He held a rather large net along with his fishing pole. One of his legs was mauled and was barely hanging on his body. His tail was ripped off and patches of fur were missing. He had lost tons of weight and if not for the fur color or the pole I would not have recognized him. There was no wicked grin across his face like I expected there to be. Instead he looked dead serious.

I did my best to stay calm, "Hello, Big. Surprised you're alive."

The cat made his way across the room swiftly towards us. He growled in a low, muffled voice, "I have a message for you."

I was astonished that he actually was maintaining a sane attitude. I was expecting him to start attacking us, but he stayed completely still before us waiting to deliver his 'message'. I still told tall, "Is it from Shikyo? Because if it is tell her to go to hell and burn herself."

Kage, still totally out of it, randomly laughed at what I said, "Haha, I get it. Hell has fire and fire burns you and fire kills Shikyo. That's funny."

I gave him a look.

"No," the cat told us sternly, "it's not."

That gave me another surprise. Hadn't he just came from her, or did somehow the Sonic Team escape? And if this was the real Big he would have been all over me by now. Something has obviously changed about him – and probably all of them if the rest are alive. I still did not let my guard down though, "Who then?"

"He did not identify himself," the cat answered, "he just told me to tell you something important."

Kage was getting impatient, a condition he has even if he is sober. "What?"

"He said to tell you this: 'People who fight fire with fight burn in the ashes of their de--------------." His head puffed up like a giant balloon suddenly before he could finish, and before I could even take a step to attempt to save him, his head exploded. Blood spattered everywhere across the room and his body laid limp on the floor surround by red.

I stared blankly. Though he had been taking care of me for more than ten years of my life I did not feel a single tear or sadden thought reach my mind as I stared at his bloody corpse. I know that I had already deemed him dead before, but… does this mean I no longer care at all for the fate of the Sonic Team?

And what about the message? What was the meaning of it? People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their what? It was important and whoever sent Big to tell me this knew something that we didn't. I sighed. Things just keep getting more baffling.

Kage broke my thoughts by laughing, "Haha! He was a balloon! What's the red fluid for though?"

I didn't even try to explain. "Come on, Kage," I said softly, waving his attention to me, "you need sleep."

"No I don't," He said, stepping towards me. He lost his balance and fell on the floor. I couldn't help but laugh. He was pathetic when he was drunk.

"Yeah, you need sleep. Come on."

The next morning I let Amy discover Big's body. I hated having to comfort her and act as though I was mourning like she was. I let her cry on my shoulder while a few of the guards packed the body in a bag and took it away. Even the guards looked more miserable about his death than I did. I felt terrible more about not feeling terrible for his death than the other way around.

Of course, Kage did not remember it at all. He actually got a good couple hours of sleep in without waking up from Shikyo's pestering. I did not dare tell Ero that I intoxicated him to make him answer a few questions – though I only got to know two that did not help me much. I was starting up into the ones that were important, like how Soran – a modern person – and Kage – a spiritualist – knew each other so well.

Speaking of Soran, he still had a faint smile upon his lips as the body was being taken out. He chuckled and said, "At least he will rest in peace now."

I walked over across the room to a board in which was blank and waiting to be written on. I took a bright, red marker and wrote, "People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their ------"

I stared at it. We needed to find the person who told Big this. They know all the answers – they knew the truth behind Shikyo.

I'll tell you something. Someone in the castle told Big the message.

See ya.


	43. Chapter 42

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 42

Tails' POV

"Come on, Mr. Kage and Mr. Soran!" Molly cried as she gripped the two's hands as tightly as possible. She marched us down the hallway determined to get us to our destination as quickly as she could. "I need to show you something!"

Though she was mostly motioning for Kage and Soran to follow her, Amy, Ero, and I decided to tag along. It was either that or listen to the King pout all day about his kingdom being wiped out without doing anything about it. And anyway, Amy really needed to get her mind off of Big for a bit. That's all she been able to talk about this morning, and it makes me feel guiltier about not mourning his death.

"Alright, Molly," Soran said with a gentle, wide smile on his face, "lead the way and we will follow."

Ero sneered. Though the older rabbit could not stand the cougar before him, the younger one immediately attached to him. After all, from what I have seen, Soran is quite good with kids and at one point he mentioned having one around Molly's age of his own. I wonder why he's not back home with her anyway…

Kage was as excited as Ero was. "Oh yeah," he said mockingly, rolling his red eyes, "I'm so excited! What are we going to see; a pony? I've _always _wanted to see a pony!" He grunted.

"Do you always have to be so sarcastic?" Amy asked annoyed. "She's a _six-year-old _girl. Give her some slack at least!"

The black kitsune smiled smugly, "Sarcasm is just one of the many services that I so humbly offer."

She groaned in infuriation. Though those two bickering was not as enjoying as him and Ero or Ero and Meep fighting, it was good to see that Amy had actually broke passed the mourning for a few moments at least.

"You told me," Molly said determined, naïve to the conversation about a pony, "if I saw anything weird than I should come get you. So I've found something."

"A mutated pony?" Kage asked curiously.

Amy, with a ragged sigh, slapped the black kitsune as hard as possible off-side of the head. It was her way of saying 'you are so stupid, you idiot – shut up!' in a psychical manner instead of a verbal one. It was for the best that she signaled this to him though, but truly Kage is slow and probably would of gone on thinking it was some mutated pony we were going to see and get his hopes up (he likes the whole mutated, unusual sight thing – not when its Shikyo's work of course.)

"No pony," Nicole said sternly. Over the last couple days she has started to use the English that she knew. She wasn't that great at it, but still, it was enough for use to at least communicate.

"Well, whatever it is, it better be worth it," Ero said with a yawn, "because I did not give up the other half of my 'waffle' for nothing." The bags under the rabbit's eyes could show that he did not get much sleep last night. They weren't nearly as bad as the purple underlining me and Kage's, but they were still noticeable. I wonder why he was up so late. It wasn't like Ero not to get a good night sleep.

Soran turned back to him with his usual wide smile, "Oh, come on, Ero-tan, aren't you up for a little adventure early in the morning? I've heard it's actually good for the heart and ---."

"What did you just call me? Ero-_what_!" The rabbit screamed, immediately losing his temper just because it was _Soran_. "That's it, it was you wasn't it! YOU ALL ALONG! You taught Kage to nickname people, didn't you, wise-ass!"

As we all stared at Soran for an answer, I found my fish clenched ready to punch him if he said yes. Oh, how I hated my nickname. Runt. Kage says it has a sort of ring to it and fits me perfectly, but it sure as hell does not please me. I can't fight with him over it since he was far more superior when it came to strength, but beating up the person who taught him such ways would be delightful.

Kage snickered, "Nope. I taught myself to do that, thank you."

"Ero-tan!" Nicole cried, not getting the fact that the rabbit thought it was offensive (hey, it is better than Crazy Guy though).

Meep giggled at the conversation, and Ero gave him a glare. "Ero-tan," the Chao muttered totally amused.

"WE'RE HERE!" The small girl announced before Ero was able to say anything concerning the subject. We looked upon the two wooden doors that had rusted hinges and rotting bark. It seemed like the two doors had not been open for years. It had a haunted presence to it that sent a shiver down your spine and that rose suspicion and fear into your heart. It was definitely interesting all right…

"I haven't been down 'dere yet, but I did open the door. Watch out, it's stinky!" She reached for the rusted, outmoded handle and pulled on it. The doorknob broke off when she tugged on it, but the door still noisily creaked open.

Familiar, disgusting fumes filled my nose as I clamped my hands over it to block out the stench. Mostly everyone did the same. I calculated a few thoughts in my mind and almost instantly came up with the conclusion that the odor came from putrid corpses and blood. What was done there was fresh though, not a smell that could have just happened to stick with the place after its use was ended. Molly has certainly stumbled over something…

The smile faded from Soran's lips, but he did not cover his nose like the rest of us did. He stared deep into the darkness of the smelly, freighting chamber with perplexed, yet knowing eyes. He glanced over to Kage, who took a step towards it and took in a huge whiff of the air before covering his nose again and coughing, "Damn. Whatever's down there definitely has a dreadful odor, ay?"

"I don't want to go," Amy muffled, covering both her nose and mouth for protection. "What if Shikyo's down there?"

I grabbed one of the decorative, lit candles that lined the hallways. "Then we're taking care of this once and for all," I answered dully. I held the candle into the darkness to find that it actually gave off an excellent amount of light. All it showed though were bloody walls and stone stair steps that lead to what could be our end. I uncovered my nose and decided to deal with the stench. "Anyone up for that morning adventure?"

Although I did not get an answer, I knew it was a yes for everybody.

Except from Molly.

Kage pulled her back with an annoyed look on his face, "You're blocking the way, wuss! You can't go down there anyway, it's too dang---uh…. you'll just get in the way."

Molly groaned, but did not argue.

The rest of us slowly began our descent down the old stone stairs. The air was even more pungent, if that was possible, as we went. I finally grasped my nose again to cover it from the scent when I felt like I was going to throw up. I would like to be at the bottom of the stairs just to get this over with, but it seemed like they cascaded down for hours. But soon enough we hit the ground.

My candle was no longer useful. It blew out. All we could see was darkness.

"Shit," I muttered to myself while I stared at what I thought at least was the candle in my hand. I could hear rattling, footsteps, and breathing other than our own, yet I could not see anything. If anything attacks us, we're dead. "Kage," I whispered, "do you think you can do that curse thing?"

"If you want me to take a few hours writing it, sure," he answered roughly, "but I don't think we have time for that."

"Feu," Nicole muttered and fire appeared in her hands. Right when it lit the way a mauled up, red bat like thing lunged itself at us. It opened its mouth unnaturally like its jaw was broken and all of its bloody, sharp teeth could be seen. This was when I realized it: I totally forgot my weapon. Dammit. I thought we were just going to see a pony.

Right when it was going to tackle me, Kage beheaded it with his scythe. He glared back at us, the people that didn't move an inch despite almost be torn up to pieces. "How much of fuckin idiots are you people anyway? There was a… a… I don't know what it was about to kill you, yet you, like the little dumb-asses you are, just stand their dumbstruck. Geez, do I _always _have to save you all?"

We all started muttering apologizes to him. If we didn't he would probably continue on with his tirade, which we did not have time for.

I glanced around the place while Nicole still had the ball of fire sitting neatly in her palms. From what I could see, we were in a dungeon. Rusted bars were standing from the floor to the ceiling blocking off certain parts of the floor to create jail cells. In the one closest to us was a shrew that was missing an eye, an arm, and an ear. You would think he was dead because of his condition and the blood puddle around him, but he was staring at us with a wide pupil that was a very light shade of blue mixed with white.

I stepped forward and motioned his attention. "Who did this to you?" I knew that his answer would be 'Shikyo' or something around that point, but I wanted to see if I could hold a normal conversation with him, and if I could then he might prove to be useful.

He chuckled lightly as his eye seemed to spin. He answered with a strained, wicked voice, "_Wine_…"

"Wine?" Ero asked as he took a place beside me. He looked the shrew up and down trying to figure out how a drink did this to him. My first thought was maybe he was drinking and then he ended up here, but you would have to gulp down a bottle, bottle and a half, to get drunk enough to not remember things.

The shrew was about to answer, but a raptor from the shadow so the cell quickly put the poor thing's head in its mouth and mercilessly bit in one, swift motion. Blood gushed everywhere and some hit Ero and I. Shikyo has had an obsessed with gruesome beheadings lately. The raptor hissed and the sound was echoed throughout the room and then it disappeared.

We prepared ourselves for several raptors or chameleons to appear out of the shadowed corners of the room and attack us, but they never came. All that was left was us and the darkened hallway we were about to travel.

_Go on, continue, _Shikyo urged us. _I want you all – especially the damn rabbit – to see my painful method of torturing so everyone will know what to expect when their time comes along… I will not send any of my minions here. _

"We're safe," I told everyone quietly. 'For the moment,' I added to myself.

Amy snapped, "How do you know?" I could tell she was afraid.

"Stop asking questions!" Kage growled back. It was obvious that Shikyo said the same thing to him. He motioned into the darkness in which Nicole's light could not reach, "We're going to investigate this and see if we can find anything that can lead us to who helped Shikyo with this… disgusting idea…"

"I knew that everyone in this castle could not be trusted," Soran remarked.

Ero grunted.

We began down the hallway to find that cells stretched across the full length of the room. Many of the cells held two or three people that were brutally tortured and killed in obscure ways. One girl, a dog, had her stomach smacked against the stone wall with her head twisted around so her mad, disgusting grin faced us. Another, a frog, was strangled with his own large intestine. I dare not describe the condition of the rest of the dead victims, for going into those details would disgust even a mass murdering madman.

Weirdly, I picked up the distant scent of something sweet in the room which was too faint to identify. It was a smell that was familiar, but not one that could be placed. Maybe I could ask Kage about it later. Right now I was too disturbed to speak.

My ears flickered when I heard the small snobs and snickers of what sounded like a child from the end of the long room. My paced quickened though I thought it would slow down.

The light finally landed on a small, shaking raccoon underneath a rotting body chained tightly to the wall. The coon was in this fetal position rocking herself back and forth as she muttered to herself. The girl had to be around seven or eight years old. Her dilated, green pupils widened when they landed on us. Her trembling increased. "_Please_…" She whispered in utter horror. "Don't hurt me…!"

Kage pushed past us stood above the girl. He kneeled down to her height with eyes full of pity. He was completely clam unlike Amy and Nicole, who were on the breaking point of crying. Of course, Kage was sadly use to these situations.

"Hello, little girl," he said dully, keeping his sight only on her. I was surprised he did not already nickname her. He continued before he could get a response, "I would not speak to us or else your life might be ended abruptly."

The raccoon did not reply as the black kitsune instructed.

He looked her up and down. "I see you remember the **Fourth Rule**," he said emotionlessly, "but do you know the rest?"

She nodded slightly, her eyes not leaving his face and her position tightening at the mention of the 'fourth rule'. I was interested in the rules. I had never heard Kage mention them until now, but they seemed to serve an important purpose.

"The question is," the kitsune told her, "do you want to be saved? Or should I end your suffering here?"

The girl looked up to him with pleading eyes. Knowing her answer and without hesitation, Kage carefully scooped her up in his arms. If we were in a different situation Amy would have giggled at his weakness of caring for little children, but now was hardly the time.

He walked between us with a grave frown upon his face. As he brushed past me he said, "Runt, remember the writing on the wall, would ya?"

I looked up on the wall to see what he was talking about. Above the hanging body was something written apparently in the chained body's blood. It dripped down onto the victim's head, but it was still readable. It read:

_I say that we take cannon, _

_Aim it at her door and then,_

_Knock three times and when she answers,_

_Shikyo will be no more. _

It seemed like nonsense, but I reread it a few times to memorize it. In these times nonsense was sometimes the only thing that made sense. As I walked out of the dungeon with the rest of my team I knew that once we got upstairs that we would have a conversation with the King about the little _abandoned _dungeon that we came across.

Damn, this is going to be interesting to say the least.

* * *

Hi everyone! Never thought that the castle would actually be a place that Shikyo would hold torturing chambers huh? 

Just to tell you all, the quote is a two sentence quote, so below is only the first sentence of two. Ha, and you thought you were so close too.

Enjoy.

"People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. ---


	44. Chapter 43

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 43

Tails' POV

Our walk to the throne room was not as pleasant as I had hoped it to be. I was expecting to be coming back with a smile on my face and my fists unclenched, but obviously that was not going to occur – not now anyway. The sight seen in the 'abandoned' dungeon had dragged me deeper into my already appalling mood and was not going to let go anytime soon. This attitude was not good for anyone who was going to face my wrath.

I had to feel very sorrow for the victims of Ero, Kage, and Soran though. Amy was someone that would speak her beliefs openly, but these kind of things usually left her speechless, so the only ones to really carry out the dreadful conversation would be those three.

Kage has always been and always will be a loose cannon that does not hesitate to speak what is on his mind – no matter how disturbing. He does not care who he is talking to or what the subject, but if he doesn't like it, believe me, he'll tell you.

Ero is much the same way, though he is calmer. He controls himself more, yes, but he was a dogmatic person that makes him quick to action and conclusions. If he suspects someone for something, he will hold it to that person until they prove otherwise. Let's take for example Soran and him. The rabbit took one glance at him and automatically loathed him.

Soran, though, I was not so sure about. He seemed like the one that would try to settle down the argument by little jokes and big smiles, but I could be wrong. Even after seeing the dungeon downstairs he was smiling, though it was quite a faint one, and his eyes, unlike Kage's, did not show his emotions.

I personally planned on these two (or three) to take care of it. Once Kage and Ero get started I know there is no stopping them. I probably will not even have a place to speak. Oh well, I am not the best at witty comebacks or seemingly smart things to say. I was angry though, so maybe I will speak if the conversation turns that direction.

Ero pushed open the double wooden doors to the throne room with a great amount of force. Kage was usually the one to do the entrances like that, but he was still holding the shivering raccoon girl, who I was surprised what not dead yet. We entered the large room populated by busybody soldiers and specialists. The black kitsune demanded attention and to get it he screamed, "Hey jack-asses!"

The room turned completely quiet from his outburst. The King and the General, who were concentrating on the clutter of papers on a desk in front of the throne, looked up at us with a puzzled, somewhat annoyed expression. The rest had not met any of us and were bewildered that Kage would even have the courage to scream that.

The Princess, who we had not seen all morning, came out of the stunned crowd with a concerned look. "What's going on?" She asked, wanting answers for the disruption.

"That's what I was going to ask _you _and your so-called _glorious _father," Kage snapped back as a reply. He handed the cringing girl to Ero and marched up to the Princess so that he could be towering over her (he was only about two or three inches taller than her though, so it was not a huge accomplishment). "Could you please so kindly tell me, Bitchess, why you have a torturing chamber in your basement?"

"Excuse me?" The General said, walking up behind her with a disgusted look on his face. "That dungeon has not been used for years! We have _civil _justice systems now that do not involve such places, though I'm sure you _spiritualists _probably still _torture _and brutally _execute _your criminals like the savage _animals _they are."

I winced. That spiritualist comment was definitely the wrong thing to say right at that moment. That general was going to get himself killed now. Pity… Well, not really.

Ero, whose last straw had just been picked, handed the girl over to Soran, who almost dropped her out of surprise. "What did you just say?" The rabbit yelled, taking a place next to his friend.

Kage, amazingly, ignored the spiritualist comment (or was going to come back to it later) and Ero's eruption. The kitsune raised his voice as he talked, "Believe me, that dungeon has been used by Shikyo as a fucking torturing chamber and someone in this castle has to be in this with her." He pointed to the General. "Is it you, General Dumb-ass? You might as well admit now if you did. I'll make sure your death is quick and painless. Then I'll throw you down with the rest of the bodies!"

"He had nothing to do with this," Joruri said before Faron could answer. "None of us were aware of this, I promise. It shall be investigated immediately."

"That's all you modern people do isn't it?" Kage asked with loathe. "Just 'investigate'. Your entire nation is getting killed while you are sitting here 'investigating'. Great job."

Before anyone could answer, though the King was now very red with anger, Ero said, "Kage, let's just finish this. It was that damn cougar that probably did it. Look at the smile on his face."

Soran blinked and looked around with puzzlement on his face, but his smile was still there. "Who? Me?" He asked innocently.

"Don't bring Soran into this," Kage snapped threateningly. This was just such a _perfect_ time for them to be having a quarrel.

I decided to lead them back on track and took the plate. "Settle down," I told them as though they were small children. "I am as mad as you are about this, but we are pointing fingers at people we have no evidence did this and we are getting nowhere. Ero, I seriously thought you were smarter than this."

"What about _me_?" Kage asked, pointing to himself.

"You're a fucking retard," Faron remarked.

The black kitsune whipped around to face him and said, "Please, be my guest and go stand on those symbols craved into the floor. I want to have a nice hot meal tonight and I was thinking maybe _you _could be the main course! I've always wanted to _try_ dumb-ass."

The General, fed up with all of this, snapped at two soldiers in the room, "Bring your weapons. We're going to investigate the dungeon." And soon the three of them were gone. Kage seemed disappointed. He was really expecting to have dumb-ass tonight.

"Maybe Shikyo will kill him down there," he mused to himself aloud.

"I had no idea this was going on," The King said, stepping down from his throne and making his way over to us. "You have no right to come in here and start accusing people – Shikyo has done more than you think in this castle that none of us have known about."

Kage sneered.

Joruri did her best to calm everyone down. "Everyone is a bit uneasy right now, Father, even you. Let's just figure out exactly what has happened downstairs and if we can, use it to our advantage." She looked upon the raccoon girl, who Soran was cuddling, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "And it seems like we may have found someone who can give us some information…"

* * *

_Kage's POV_

I sighed. Damn has this been a fuckin long day! My eyes drooped and I yawned loud enough to echo down the castle hallways. Shit.

We had all broken up an hour ago after our little finding in the cellars of the castle. I did stay with Ero for awhile, but he was being a gay little fag, so I left to go find something – _anything _– interesting to do. I was determined to find Runt and Bratness so that I could bug the hell out of them for a bit, yet I failed in finding them long ago. I think they might be off flirting somewhere. Damn lovebirds. And finally I sunk so low to go find French Girl and Meep, but they were no where else to be found either. And as for Soran's whereabouts… well, that guy is fucking impossible to find no matter what. Maybe some time to myself would be good. I have realized that I am starting to become somewhat social able, and believe me, such change cannot be allowed.

I pushed my body into a door too lazy to open it properly to find a white cougar sitting on the windowsill strumming a guitar. It's weird how when you stop looking for someone you find them. "Hey, Soran," I greeted with a mutter only loud enough to be heard. I wanted to nickname him badly, but have never really gotten the right moment to do so. And anyway, all the nicknames I fuck-up now-a-days suck. Ha, suck and fuck rhyme.

He looked up at me with one of his ridiculous, yet strangely comforting smiles and loudly greeted me. "K.G.! Come, sit with me! I've been waiting for you!"

I climbed up on the other side of the rather large windowsill and stared out at all the buildings below me and the dangerously darkened sky. There was silence for a few minutes, with the exception of a few plucks on Soran's instrument strings. Finally, without even glancing back at him, I muttered, "How you been, Soran…"

He chuckled, his grin widening. "I'm alive, aren't I?"

A faint smile appeared on my lips as I looked to him. "Yeah… you are… To tell the truth…" My smile disappeared. "I thought you were gone for good."

"… Heh, I promised you that I would see you again. You need to learn how to trust even the most impossible oaths, K.G," He said casually. After a second of thought, his eyes widened as he yelped, "Oh yeah!" He buried his hand deep into his yukata pocket and pulled out a worn-down brown rectangle. "Forgot to give this to you."

I took the torn object out of his hands and examined it. It was my Bible. The leather was bloody and ripped into and the pages were torn and dirty, but the title on the front could still be seen. I flipped through it. My notes, though most written in blood, were still there. "Thanks," I murmured softly. "I swore Shikyo destroyed it…"

"Nah. Even she has her lazy side."

I chuckled. "Guess so."

He began to play around with the guitar again and played different cords to a song he had once told me was by the 'Beatles' or something. Whatever the 'Beatles' meant. I settled more down into my spot and was about to begin to hum along, but a question I wanted to ask arose in my mind. "Soran… what happened to Slacks and- ?"

"Dead. Both died long ago." He answered dully, doing his best to keep his smile on his face and continue to play as though he was undisturbed by the question.

My eyes and ears drooped. "Oh…" I stared down at the ground.

"Kage, Soran!" I heard a voice squeak from the other end of the room. I grunted as I looked over to see Amy peeking in the door. "Dinner's ready," she called. Before any of us could answer, she added, "I'm afraid we're not having the General tonight though."

I rolled my eyes. She tries to be funny, yet she sucks at it. "Whatever."

* * *

Random chapter I know. But I'm on like 50 billion drugs because I just had surgery. Don't have to go to school for a while (jig).

I have a question for you all I and I would really like your opinions on it. Should this be rated M, or whatever (kills new rating system)? Sure its bloody, violent, has a ton of cuss words, and is not for little children, but... The reason I rated it T (PG-13 at first) was so it would like should up on the little section thing and be SEEN. I think that M rated ones should be on there automatiacly. Stupid bastards.

Yes, el kracked one. I know we have talked about the R (M) thing like fifteen billion times, but I am just afraid that this stupid story will get kicked off and all my work was done for nothing! AH! My Lord of the Rings Rewrite was taken off because of it not being in paragraph form and its been up for a year. I'm afraid some freak will be like OMG! MY VIRGIN EYES CANNOT READ THIS GOREY, DARK CRAP and turn me in for it.

Ah, whatever. If anyone does that I will shoot them.

"_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why ---" _


	45. Chapter 44

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 44

Tails' POV

The rest of that day went by in a silence words cannot express. It was not completely quiet like the days we aided Mori Mura, but we did not say a word about the victims of the dungeon. General Faron came back up with his men with a count of over five hundred bodies crammed in those cells. It was weird because we didn't even see half yet we were more disturbed about it than anyone else. We watched for hours over the raccoon girl, who we expected to be killed by something, but she was not touched by anything harmful.

But the afternoon and night soon revealed the next day's morning and it was marked as an entirely new day. I myself pushed the thought of the dungeon out of my head. New days bring on new things and you must leave yesterday behind, as an old philosopher said.

And this day did bring on a new thing: the first meeting of the United Nations of Mobius. I would have thought that this meeting would have been earlier, especially since now over thirty million people have been killed through the raids around the world. I realized that the leaders have been probably as busy as the King here trying to deal with the deaths and problems that a meeting was almost a waste of their time until now. I found it most surprising though when all of us were invited to attend by the Princess. She said we might have information that could be useful. I wanted to see what they would be talking about and what plans they would make for fighting Shikyo, but I was a bit worried about _Kage _being in there. Ero too… and now thinking about it, Amy too… And Soran… and I can't forget Meep. Crap, we're all going to ruin this.

"Now listen up," Faron said, leading us down the hallway towards the meeting room. "I don't want any of you to say anything, do anything, or make yourselves noticeable, got it? You're all embarrassing already…"

Kage growled and was about to say something, but Faron snapped, "And while you, especially _you _Kage, are being completely silent, you can constipate all the meanings of the phrase 'as silent as the lambs'. Got it?"

I thought it was rude that Faron was telling us be silent throughout the entire thing, but if I were in his shoes I wouldn't want Kage, Ero, or any other person in this group to say something. I could see it being a disaster now… and how horrible it looked.

The General opened the doorway for us and we walked inside the small room. It held a long table surrounded by red, comfortable chairs that matched the walls. In the seats sat all the officials of Hatsu, including the King and the Princess. There were plastic chairs lining the wall in which the door was held and that was where Faron made us sit. He was going to take his seat around the table, but Kage slipped in before he could. The General was about to burst in anger, but Kage muttered while putting his index finger over his mouth, "As silent as the lambs…" Faron growled, but did not make the black kitsune get up. Instead the General stood.

The screen that covered one wall of the room turned on and soon the leaders from all of the other countries of the world appeared. I had always wanted to see a U.N. meeting in progress, but all talk here was going to be over death and a particular bitch I abhor with a passion, so it was not an ideal experience. From what I could see, the leaders looked older than the last time I had seen them on T.V. The situation here has probably put such a stress toll on them it made them all look at least twenty years older. No one was smiling, there were no happy greetings, but instead silence before the King of Hatsu finally spoke up.

"Hello, fellow members of the United Nations," he greeted solemnly, as he arose from his seat. "I have called you all here today not to discuss minor issues or potential threats, but instead talk about a series of raids – a plague, I dare say – that has swept the entire planet. It has harmed every country, every soul that lives and breathes. We must find a way to put an end to this massacre before it puts an end to us." With a sigh he sat back down slowly and muttered, "Let us begin."

After the introduction into the discussion of how to save the planet from Shikyo's 'perfect dream world', talk blazed with war strategies and ways to lessen the raids. Mercia brought in a proposition that the world should join alliances and instead of having individual armies, a World Army should be made. Never had such an idea has ever been considered, unless you count the U.N. Guard, which does not even consist of a thousand soldiers. There would be five sections of the army, each section being in one country, but all would have to answer to one superior base. There were flaws here and there about how this would work out, but in the end it seemed like the only thing reasonable. There was an issue with the number of soldiers we now had. Only ten thousand troops were held in Hatsu, and the rest of the worlds' was not much higher. We would have to recruit and maybe even send out a worldwide draft. But one thing was certain: there was no way that one country could go alone against Shikyo's grand army, which is growing by the minute. Time to form such an armada was definitely a concern, but in the end it would pass.

Also, the chatter of mass producing flamethrowers flew around. Acorn wanted to equip not only the World Army with this weaponry, but also the civilians so that they could protect themselves during future raids. The idea itself was very good, but all the countries at the moment had no way to support it – even funding the World Army would bring the world into billions of dollars of debt. All of the money has been dumped onto the hopes of reviving the raided cities.

But an interesting subject came up that lead into a large commotion. Who was to blame for Shikyo's actions anyway? Though Keita had something to do with it, I really didn't know. The leaders here have probably never heard of Keita's name (save for Mercia) so suggesting him would not help. Anyway, I'm not allowed to talk.

Kage, of course, forgot the phrase 'as silent as the lambs' when the leader of Downunda said this, "If we have to blame someone for the millions of deaths and Shikyo's madness it would have to be the spiritualists. _They _have been teaching this evil magic for hundreds of years now and it was just a matter of time before they used it against the modern world!"

The black kitsune stood up, fed up with the remark, "Excuse me, but over the last month Shikyo has killed three-fourths of the spiritualist nation, so no it's not only against the modern world!"

Faron cursed under his breath. He pushed Kage to sit back down, determined to make his presence disappear once more, but the kitsune leaned in and whispered something into the General's ear. His face twisted into a disgusted, surprised expression as Kage pulled away with a smirk. Though the General seemed angry that Kage was up, he did not stop him from triumphantly walking forward to take the stand.

The leaders looked bewildered as all the people in the Hatsu room were either burying their faces into their hands in embarrassment or silently motioning to Faron to grab the advancing 'no-one'. "And who would you be?" King Acorn asked finally obviously annoyed with Kage's interruption.

"The name is Keita Hanari, 10th and last Watcher alive," He answered smugly, putting on the flawless act that he really was that high in authority.

I swore that my mouth hit the floor at that moment. How in the world was Kage going to pass off as Keita? Someone in this room was going to stop him, but after a few moments of only nervous fidgeting, I realized that the black kitsune might get away with this. Great! If they let him slide through this without getting in trouble he won't learn anything!

"I realize that my people have made the mistake of training a madwoman in the art of necromancy and shape shifting, and we take full responsibility for this. But how dare you blame us for the raids themselves! Never did we intend to even have contact with your 'modern world'." I was amazed how professional Kage actually sounded through this. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. "So, I am willing to contribute to your efforts of defeating Shikyo by giving you _my _militia so that it can join this World Army."

Okay, I lied. This was going to be horrible.

"Oh my god," Ero muttered, burying his face deep into his palms. "What is he _doing_? What is he doing? The spiritualists have no _army_!"

"How many troops are in this armada you speak of?" the military leader of Downunda asked, suddenly interested in what Kage – I mean, _Keita _– had to say. All of the leaders were staring at him as though he was suddenly some savoir for offering spiritualist services to this effort. It would be like fighting fire with fire…

"I am not sure," he answered, "but I shall start right away on getting them to Hatsu." With that said, he whipped around and started out of the room while calling for Nicole, "Nicole, viner! Nous avons des choses à faire!"

The cat jumped up, excited that Kage was actually speaking French to her, "Oui! Venir, monsieur!" And she followed him out of the room.

The entire U.N. was quiet as we all stared at the door in which the two just left. I could not believe Kage just did that. Amy finally peeped up, "Kage knows French?"

* * *

We exited the room to find that neither Kage nor Nicole were there. All the leaders of Hatsu stumbled out of the room exhausted by the meeting and the black kitsune's grantee of an army weighing heavily on their minds.

Faron stomped up to us, obviously angry about how the meeting ended. "That black kitsune of yours better have an army or else I will bring him to the grave!"

Soran actually laughed about it, "Oh, don't worry! K.G. may be a bit cold and sarcastic sometimes, but he's always true to his word. He'll come with an army!" How he had so much faith in an unbelievable person was a great mystery to me.

"There are probably two people in his army," Amy muttered nastily. "Himself and Nicole… and maybe Meep, so make that three. But still, that's no army!"

"What did he say in your ear before he took the stand anyway," I asked Faron, interested in what made the General resist from pushing Kage back down into the seat, and what made him so disgusted.

That distasted face came onto his features again and he said, "He said: 'I figured out that lambs aren't silent. They scream when you kill them.'"

I sighed. So like Kage.

* * *

Hey everyone. Yes, this was a short chapter, but it was supposed to be. The next one is going to be quite lengthy. The whole thing sucked because I am really bad at speeches and meetings, but this is the best I can give you so here.

So, you guys really thing Kage has an army up his sleeve?

Oh, this story, in the next couple chapters, **will be moved to the rating M. **I just don't want to risk it. So if you dont have the story on alert or not on your favorites put it on there now so that you will be notified when the next chapter does come up. Thanks!


	46. Chapter 45

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 45

Tails' POV

"I still don't see how _he _can get an army," Amy, who was quite frustrated with the situation, spat. She violently shook the bottle of shampoo so that the purplish-pink liquid would come out on her hand. Once it did, she made quick work of rubbing it into the little raccoon girl, who had been forced into the full bathtub five minutes ago, hair. We were both kneeling over the tub doing our best to clean her up. "I mean, from what I understand, he has no authority in the spiritualist economy at all! Watch the army be a ton of hobos or something."

"Well, that's better than just him, Meep, and Nicole making it up isn't it," I asked.

She paused everything she was doing for the moment to think about that. Once the girl squirmed under her hands to get out of the tub, she snapped back into reality. "No. At least they know how to fight… a bit. Wait! Why am I defending them – or more like, _him_? Kage is such a prat."

Not only was he a prat, but he was also missing. After his little speech about getting an army, he was gone like the wind with Meep and Nicole at his heels. No one has seen him since. The castle was quite large, but even in the mass crowds of captains rushing around (they were here to tally up the number of soldiers in Hatsu that could join the World Army) Kage wouldn't be hard to find. He's usually doing something incredibly bizarre that draws attention to himself. I just hope he hasn't left the castle, or else he's an easier target for Shikyo. The last thing we truly need is Kage in _her _disgusting hands.

Amy dunked the girl's hair underwater to wash off the shampoo and once she let her back up I gave the raccoon a rag to rub her eyes with. I felt sorry for her. Not only was her family probably some of the ones dead below us, but she also was victim to Amy's irritation. Which one was worst I could not tell. The girl did not speak or has not spoken since we got her out of the dungeon. She is probably taking Kage's words seriously.

I finally spoke up, "Kage has to have something."

The pink hedgehog looked at me as though I had betrayed her (though I was really never on her side on the subject in the first place) and asked, "What?"

"I don't think that he would say something about having some sort of army if he didn't. I mean, sure he can be a bit… off… but he does take defeating Shikyo very seriously. I don't think he'd lie to people trying to aid us in her destruction."

"What kind of army does he have then?" Amy asked plainly, expecting an immediate answer.

"A useless one," a little voice peeped, though that voice had a hint of lunacy. We looked down at the raccoon girl, whose eyes were wide and a large, teeth-bearing grin on her face. "Even if he gets more than a million individuals, the world will have no chance in defeating _it_. His efforts, all of your efforts, are completely futile! The only reason Master has not stopped the black kitsune is because it finds his _dreams _amusing – especially this one that he can actually do something to defeat an immortal!" She chuckled loudly as though what she had just said was funny and true. "To think that he, a simple _toy_, actually believes he can defeat the Mystery! Ha!"

I did not know why, but I felt the sudden urge to drown the girl for saying that. Many of those under Shikyo have said that our plans of defeating her were inadequate, but never before did I feel the need to kill them for it. I withheld myself though the thought of getting rid of her filled my mind. It was probably Shikyo's plan for me to kill her so that she could not give away anything. But she already might of. "Mystery?" I asked quietly.

The girl immediately snapped out of her insane state and stared at me with the innocent eyes she had only minutes before the outburst. She said nothing.

I sighed. I hated that right now I had more questions than answers.

Amy continued cleaning her up as though nothing had happened. The only thing she said was this: "Yes, what a mystery this all is…"

* * *

I leaned against the wall with a sigh. With the flicker of a pen I began to write in one the first page of a small notebook that I had. I drew my pen away to look down at the wording on the page:

_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat._

_I say that we take a cannon, _

_Aim it at her door and then,_

_Knock three times and when she answers,_

_Shikyo will be no more!_

_Mystery _

The wording on the small, lined paper was important, but except for that I knew nothing. I had a feeling they all related in some sort of way, but to what I had no idea. I knew that the first line was not complete. Big wanted to say a second sentence before his death. It probably solved everything about Shikyo, or else she would probably have not made his death so quick and painless. I loathed the fact that she was hiding something huge from us. Why couldn't she just spit it out so we could get on with our lives?

"Whatcha doin?" A voice asked, clearly interested in my activities.

I glanced over at Soran, and instead of explaining in words I handed him the notebook. He read over it carefully. Even though I expected the answer to be a shrug or an 'I don't know' I still asked, "Do you know anything?"

"No," He shook his head while still staring down at the paper before him. His smile was faded into a frown of concentration as the words seemed to burn into his misted over blue eyes. "Metaphors," he said quickly.

"What?" I questioned, standing on my toes to see the words on the small sheet of paper. "They're metaphors?"

He nodded, "I'm not sure about the first one, but the poem has to be metaphorical. I seriously doubt even an insane person would actually just go up to Shikyo's door with a cannon and knock. Knock three times to be exact." He paused for a moment. "And the Mystery… I've heard her called that before, though I'm not sure what it means. It has to stand for something."

I smirked. Finally caught him caught in his own trap. I stared at him as the sun from the dusk sky shined brilliantly into the room. "And how do you know Shi------?"

"DINNER!" Soran yelped, a smile spreading across his face. "Yes, that's what I came to tell you! Dinner is ready. It's not the best meat on the planet, but its still good." He laughed. "We should be thankful we're still getting good portions of food here!" He quickly started down the hallway. "Come on!"

With a sigh I followed. I had tons of questions about Shikyo, and Soran brushing me off every time I tried to ask him something was not helping.

* * *

I stabbed into my steak, which wasn't as well cooked as I had expected. The piece of meat was extremely small, as though it came from a starving cow. I did not care that much; over the past weeks I have left my pickiness behind and am willing to eat anything – even Kage's pancakes. I just had to be thankful food was there.

"Where's the kitsune?" Faron asked, not looking up from the papers he was working on. He had no food, only a glass of tanish water, as he tapped on his calculator. He was rude, but hardworking. I could understand why he was general. "I haven't seen him since his little speech about an imaginary army… and that was what… ten – eleven hours ago? Hope he didn't run off or anything."

Ero was about to say something back, though if it was in Kage's defense or not I am not sure, but the doors to the dinner room flew open and in walked the missing black kitsune along with his two comrades.

He seemed smugger than usual as he walked in with his head high and his smirk wide across his face. He was dressed in a baggy, auburn cloak that was way too big for his figure, and it oddly reminded me of the one Shikyo was wearing when I met her. Meep proudly rode his shoulder and Nicole followed his footsteps like a servant. "I'm back," he announced haughtily.

Faron glanced up from what he was doing like the rest of us did. He glanced around, "Where's your army, Kage? Are you the only three?" I could tell by the expression on his face that he knew that the kitsune had something more. Kage's attitude showed it completely.

Kage grinned, showing his teeth and told the answer, "Hell no."

"GENERAL!" A voice cried. Behind Kage and the smiling Nicole skidded a soldier, who looked both terrified and amazed. "Sir, you must come see this! The spiritualist army has arrived!"

* * *

"Now, I must remind you," Kage told us. "You all here believed that I could never get an army." He led us all down the hallway towards the highest balcony of the castle. "So you cannot argue when I laugh in all of your faces and tell you 'I told you so', got it?"

"The army can't be _that _big," Ero muttered. The rabbit has been in a bad mood all day. He was snapping at people whenever anyone tried to talk to him. I guess he was worried about the black kitsune running off, and now he is mad at him for it.

Kage did not notice his friend's discontentment as he flung open the glass doors so that we could step onto the balcony. I wasn't sure exactly what we were going to see. Maybe the black kitsune had rounded up the remaining spiritualists, but you would think that would take a series of days to accomplish. What did he have up his sleeve?

I looked to the yellowish, red, and green sky above as I stepped onto the white, wooden porch. The side effects of Shikyo's Dreamworld forming made the sky a navy blue and the sunrises and sunsets a greenish tint. My eyes were immediately taken off of the sky though when I got up to the rail and my eye caught what lied below.

Filling the streets of Hatsu Kingdom were hundreds upon thousands of skeleton soldiers. In their hands were rusted, but deadly spears that were taller than the men themselves. They stood hunched, almost zombish, but nevertheless were much better than what I had expected from Kage. They were in an army formation from the day of Old, and they did not even flinch but instead stood in perfection.

"Well, what do you think?" Kage asked, rubbing it in.

"I think… this is absolutely insane!" Amy cried. "Where in heck did you get this army? It looks like you borrowed legions from Shikyo or something."

The black kitsune looked offended, "Borrowed an army from Shikyo? I'm hurt that you say that. I borrowed an army from a much _higher_ authority."

Just as he said this, the King of Hatsu rushed onto the balcony followed by the same soldier that was sent to fetch Faron, who by the way was speechless, and the Princess. "What is going on here?" The King asked, ordering an answer. We said nothing though because soon he was leaning over the banister to see the sight himself. His mouth hung open as did the Princess's.

"Who is the master?" Kage asked, striking a smug pose. "Come on! You all know who it is! Who delivered the ultimate army, hmm? Who spent his entire day summoning it up? Tell me who it is!"

"Kage," most of us answered dully so he would shut up. We were all still too interested in the army to even really look back at him.

"Sir," Faron said, glancing to the King with anger in his eyes, "there is no way we can accept this addition to the W.A.! He used a magic known as Necromancy – the exact same evil Shikyo has been abolishing her armada with! We cannot sink to her level."

Kage shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, General. You really shouldn't insult an army that someone has so nicely given to you. And if you really have to, take it up with _their_ leader, though he won't be too happy he was woken up for you to just reject him. And saying that he sunk down to _her _level. Be careful, Dumb-ass, your tongue might make you enemies."

The General cocked an eyebrow, "Why are you talking about yourself in third-person?"

"There is no way in hell I'm the general of that army," he told Faron, pointing down to the troops below. "Though I wish," Kage said dreamily.

"Then who is?"

I was almost knocked over by an enormous gush of wind that came from above. I quickly set my vision on the sky to find a massive, green dragon flying overhead. It had to be the size of five or six football fields, and it had the claws that shined like butchers' knives and the teeth like that of a saber-tooth (though much larger in size). He was just like something I remembered seeing once before… all I could do was stare when I knew exactly who it was: Shigematsu, the dragon from the tomb of the Ryuukotsusei.

It took a couple of laps around the tallest tower of the castle and finally settled himself on there. He looked down at us as though he was for us to say or do something for him.

Kage turned to the King and Faron, "You two need to go make peace with your new ally don't you think?"

"It's a… a…"

"A dragon I know. Whoop-de-do!" The black kitsune said sarcastically.

"I love dragons," Soran yelped randomly. He seemed quite happy about the situation and not bothered that the troops below us were supposed to be dead. "Can I meet him? I promise I'll be nice. _Please, _K.G.?"

Ero smacked him on the back of the head, "Shut up, freak!"

Kage ignored them both as he yelled up to the dragon, "Venha senhor mais próximo! Desejam falar de uma aliança com você!"

I glanced over to Amy, who looked as dumbfounded about the language as everyone else. Obliviously it wasn't French. The black kitsune had clearly told Shigematsu to come closer though because the dragon was soon on the tower closest to us with his head resting on the banister. His nostrils blew out smoke and I coughed.

**_Desejam falar da aliança? Bom, deixa-os falar_**, the dragon said in a booming voice that made the armies stir below and us shiver.

Kage glanced over his shoulder at the King, "He wants to talk of an alliance. You say whatever. I'll translate."

"What language is that?" Faron asked.

"Just start talking!" he snapped as an answer.

The King took his side next to Kage and gave the dragon a low bow. He began, "Hello, dragon of Old, I must thank you for coming here on such short notice."

"Oi, dragão de Velho, devo obrigado para vir aqui em tal aviso curto," Kage said quickly to Shigematsu.

**_Tal aviso curto de fato. Ouvi do jovem preto que o mundo entrou em caos. Conte-me, por que o mundo em guerra é? Uma vez eu sei este decidirei se eu o emprestarei o meu exército ou não. _**Shigematsu said almost lazily, settling down in his spot like he was going to hear a long story.

"He wants you to tell him why the world is in such chaos and why his army is needed. After that he will decide whether he thinks it is right to help or not," Kage told the King.

After this the King began to explain the situation and the black kitsune did not say a single mocking remark as he translated. Shigematsu sat and listened, only nodding his head once and awhile to tell the King and Kage to continue on. The dragon was smiling at the beginning of the story, but once the two went into how Shikyo went insane and started a massacre to try to form a Perfect Dreamworld, which in whatever language they are speaking is something like Aperfeiçoa Mundo da Fantasia by the way; his smile faded and became a deep, old frown. For such a fearsome beast you could see that he held pity and compassion in his heart as the story went on and in sometime you could tell he was going to aid the world in this battle.

Finally, when it was over, the dragon nodded solemnly. **_Viejo… Seu problema é verdadeiramente incômodo... _**He glanced up at the sky as though he was thinking for a moment and said, **_O céu... parece diferente? Isto é por causa de Shikyo?_**

Kage took a look at the sky and nodded, "Sim. O mundo da fantasia forma."

**_Ah… Bom, então. Eu o ajudarei. Dirigirei o meu exército em batalha quando é tempo. _**Shigematsu said with a soft smile.

Kage grinned. "Alright! We got ourselves an ally!"

And for the first time in a long time, things were starting to look better.

* * *

Hey everybody! This chapter did not amazingly take long! Wow! GO ME!

For anyone that knows Portuguese here, I don't know if all my wording is right. I'm not good with the grammar stuff, so don't kill me. I can only do so much.

Yes, I realize the rating hasn't gone up yet. It will in a couple of chapters when appropriate. So again, please do something so you remember to read.

Oh, and Black Skittles or whatever. STOP CHANGING UR NAME! It's confusing me (cries). I don't know what to call you anymore…

May the Force Be With You (STAR WARS IS OUT NOW! WHOOT!)

Kelsey (Shiming-star)


	47. Chapter 46

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 46

Tails' POV

"Mystery. That's an odd name to call someone," Amy remarked, staring down at my small notebook where the name was scribbled. "I know that Shikyo is not exactly a clear person to read, but…"

I snuggled into the cushion of one of the many random couches in the castle. The television screen flashed before us, though it was on mute, and showed images of the destroyed cities and the dying people. I did my best not to look up to often. "It means something," I told her, taking the notepad back from her. "I just don't know what."

Today has gone smoother now that Shigematsu's army has arrived. The castle is indeed still busy, but some of the weight on the shoulders of the World Army was gone now that they had a dead army on their side. Though this lightened things and made our chances of winning slightly better, the world was growing worse. The sky was now a dark, navy blue and cracks of red are beginning to take the place of clouds. If anyone in the spiritualist community had disagreed with Shikyo's theories about dreamworld, now they were seeing that she was not kidding about being able to form one. The sun is slowly going black and the moon last night had a tint of red. I have noticed that trees are beginning to from into an ugly, shriveled-like state and flowers and beginning to drip black goo. Surely, the worst is yet to come, but right now was not the best of times either.

We did have some time to rest despite havoc going on about the world. Though I am not exactly sure where Kage and Soran are at the moment (I'm guessing they're with Shigematsu, but I am not for sure of this), the rest of us have gotten away into this nice, comfy room. We were not technically taking a break from Shikyo though. Ero and Nicole have been rapped up in war tactic and strategy books (some somehow are in French) and Amy and I were trying to figure out the metaphor and other things. Meep was not being much help.

"Meep, will you stop hitting me?" Amy asked, rubbing her head in annoyance as she swatted him away. "I know this may not seem important to you, but we're trying to work here."

"Meep can help," he told her. "Meep smarter than Amy think!"

Ero laughed when he heard that.

"Meep is to smart!" He cried. When Ero did not stop chuckling, he flew over and took the first thing he saw in sight that he knew was Ero's - his bottle of water. "Mine now!"

"Hey, give it back!" Ero snapped, reaching up to take back what was his. He was not able to snatch it though before Meep made it disappear into oblivion. "Meep, you shitball, that was full! Now I'm going to have to get another one."

As the two fought, I stared back down at the paper. "Something has to give," I said to myself as I tapped my pen against the pad. I hated that I was considered a genius in society, yet I could not figure out what was missing here. This should be so easy - ha, the answer is probably right in front of me and I can't even see it.

"Don't worry," Amy assured me, "something will. Shikyo has to make a slip-up somehow. No one is perfect, though she believes she is."

"I'm beginning to think she is too." I muttered.

The pink hedgehog grunted, "Don't say such things. As Soran said, nothing in the world is perfect - if something was, everything would be out of balance."

"Don't listen to him," Ero said, looking up at us from the floor. He was going to say something else, probably something against the white cougar, but Meep slapped him harder than normal.

"Ero should respect Soran-sir!" He told him. "Soran-sir very brave!"

"_Right_, and I'm Shikyo's personal assistant." The white rabbit said sarcastically.

"It's possible," I remarked, a smirk forming on my face. It was the first time anything like a smile has appeared on my face all day. I could see Amy was happy to see that I was at least enjoying myself, though it was just a tiny bit.

"Shut up, _runt_," he snapped. He grumbled as he turned back to his war tactics book and engulfed himself in it. I did not see why _he _was studying the subject, I was most expecting to find Faron with us doing that, but he obviously wanted to learn about it.

I shook my head and returned to my paper. My smile quickly faded into a frown. I sighed. _Something has to give. _

* * *

Kage's POV

"I have to admit," Soran said with a playful, yet fake smile on his face as he strung the guitar strings, "I was not expecting a _dead _militia lead by a Portuguese speaking dragon to be your army. You truly amazed me this time, K.G."

I gave him a small grin, "I said I'd deliver, didn't I?"

"Of course, of course! Never doubted you for a second."

I snuggled back into the post of the window seal. I did not know what was so great about this room, but whenever Soran and I were able to have a moment alone it was in here. Maybe he likes it or something. I can't see for the fuckin life of me why someone would like a _room_. Soran is bit of a weird-ass, so this kind of thing should be expected. Eh, reminds me a ton of Ero. If I ever said that to Crazy Guy he'd kill me, cut off my head, throw my body into an ocean, and keep my head as a trophy. Wonder why he hates Soran so fuckin much anyway.

"You know, Kage," he told me, breaking the momentary silence, "songs can state the deepest feelings of a person. Songs are sometimes the only way you can express yourself." He plucked another string on his instrument.

I blinked. "And. I needed to know this why?"

He shrugged, "Whenever I have something wise to say I say it. It makes me look more. ummm... professional-like." He grinned. "Yes, professional-like! That's exactly the word I was looking for!"

"I'm not sure if profession-like is one word," I told him.

"It can be if I want it to be. That's what's so great about the English language - you can put a dash whenever you want and there you go - a word!"

I thought about this for a moment and finally said, "I like Portuguese better." And then just to fuck with him I said in Portuguese, "O inglês é como um pássaro mudo comparou com português, que é como uma águia... ou algo."

"I don't know Portuguese," Soran whined, forming a pouting look across his face. "I wanted to learn it so bad, and Slacks said he would teach me, but." He stopped quickly there, realizing he had said something he did not want to say and did not continue with the sentence. "Umm, I mean..." He quickly glance up at the sky, "how bout that blue. umm. kinda reddish like sky, huh?" When he saw that he was not grabbing my attention with the question he said, "_Huh_?" louder and more stressed.

"How. did Slacks die?" I asked him almost in a whisper, finally letting out the question I have been meaning to ask him forever. "And where's Atreyu? What happened to him?"

Soran's eyes softened up and showed a tiny bit of emotion. He stared at me as contently as possible, but the pick in his hand was slightly shaking. "You don't want to know, child," he told me, his voice strained with seriousness. "You _don't_ want to know."

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"No I'm not," he answered simply. To motion that the conversation was over, he began to play a song on the guitar loud enough so that if I talked I'd have to yell, and if I did yell he'd probably pretend he could not hear me.

I was angered that he would not answer my question. "Fuck it," I told him, though I was not exactly sure if he heard me. I jumped off the window seal and began to walk away. I heard him stop, but I hardly cared - unless he was goin to respond of course.

"K.G." he muttered, calling me back. I did not listen though as I started to open the door. "Kage," he called again, anger rising in his voice. I still did not listen though. I wanted him to know I was mad that he would not share information that was my business to know. "KEIR!" He snapped.

I immediately whipped around at the mention of that name.

Soran had no smile on his face nor did he look happy at all. "I told you that you did not want to know because if I told you I know you would not believe me. And it's not only for your own good, but also mine." With that he returned to his guitar, but the smile was not returned to his face.

"Don't call me that name," I said to him. And I left.

* * *

Soran's POV

I sighed as the door slammed. This is just not my day. I knew that K.G. was easy to anger, but I thought that he'd understand my reasoning. I guess not. I stung the guitar string sorrowfully. I knew he was not fond of the name Keir, but sometimes it's the only way to get his attention. I lazily shut my eyes. When did I give him that name anyway? Ah yes, I remember.

F L A S H B A C K

_I am still, not even to this day, sure why _I _was picked for the job. Perhaps "Master", as we were commanded to call her, had figured out about my occupation before I, along with hundreds of others, was brought into Hell, or maybe I was picked at random. Either way, my job now could be considered my salvation, but all at the same time could easily be my death. My job was to take care of Shikyo's most prized possession while she was away. If I did everything right I had a better chance of not being put into the Machine, but one false move - and I quote - "I will experience the slowest death recorded in history." I had no idea what this treasured thing was. Maybe a sword, a device, or maybe even the book with the instructions of how to work the dreaded Machine. I betted then that not even God knew what it was, but once I saw the talked about possession, I knew God had to be with it - or should I say _him

_I remember being shoved roughly into a medium-sized room and locked inside until "meal" time came around. I was usually quite fearless- I had been living in Hell for a while now and for the most part have seen all of its horrors (other than the Machine) - but I was scared. Maybe Master had a vicious pet I had to care for. Maybe I was it's meal. _

_I was proved wrong in all of my theories though when my eyes landed on a small, scrawny figured backed up into a corner of the room as far away from the fairly nice bed as possible. I thought at first maybe it was one of the lizards that scurried around the place, but fur and white spots told me differently. It was shivering and it tightly held itself in a protective ball. I stepped closer and I saw it cringe._

_"Hello there," I muttered quietly, just loud enough so it could hear me. "Don't worry, I wouldn't hurt you." _

_It did not believe me as its posture tightened. I took another step closer and despite my terrible eyesight was able to identify the creature as a two-tailed fox. I found it rather surprising that Shikyo's sacred item was actually a living thing. _

_"I promise I won't hurt you," I told it. "Master said that if I even touch you she'll rip me from limb to limb. Now come on, show yourself." _

_It seemed to trust me a bit more as it let down its guard and looked at me with new found interest. He was extremely small with midnight black and dirty white fur. There was no way he could be over 14 as he stared up at me with wide, odd, ruby eyes. He was dressed in a silk black yukata with gold trim, but despite it draped on him you could see he was dangerously skinny - though you can also tell that he was fed better portions than the rest of us down here were. He was shaky, but I could tell he was happy to see someone other than Shikyo. He said not a word, but instead just gawked. _

_I kneeled slowly down to his height, doing my best not to intimidate him. He was probably afraid of fast movement. "What's your name?" I asked him, wanting to start up a friendly conversation. I formed a smile on my face though it was completely fake. _Don't intimidate him.

_He did not answer me as he looked me up and down in bewilderment and wonder. His eyes and motions asked 'how are you here? why are you here?'_

_I did my best to draw his attention back to the discussion I was trying to have with him. "Do you have a name?"_

_He still did not respond._

_"I know you have a name," I said to him patiently. "Everyone does - even me. I'm Soran. What's your name?"_

_"Possessions don't have names," he told me dully. _

_During my time here in Hell I had thought I had lost most emotion, but his first words to me pulled what I thought to be a numb heartstring. At first I had no idea how to respond to such a thing and sound positive. He was such a pity to see. No child should be stuck here in such a terrible, dreadful place. "I think you should have a name," I said. Right then a brilliant idea came to my mind. "Can I name you?"_

_He thought this proposition over and plainly responded, "I am not worth naming."_

_"Of course you are," I told him, "because guess what - I have already thought of a name for you!" _

_A small bit of anticipation formed in his eyes and shook his body as he asked, "What is it?" _

_"Keir," I answered. "I'll call you Keir." _

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

"Never close your eyes," A voice told me while I felt a hand read on my head. "Isn't that what the _Second Rule _commands?"

My eyes snapped open in a puzzle of confusion, but gathered my wits with a joyful look and a smile before looking at the person who had awakened me and was not rubbed the fur on my head. At first I thought it was just K.G. being an idiot or Meep playing around, but soon my happy look was gone and was replaced with an ice cold glare. The person there was the last one I wanted to see. I swatted his hand off of my head in disgust as I growled, "What are _you _doing here?"

The dirty, probably maggot-filled rat in front of me from a crooked and wicked grin on his face. "Soran, Soran, I thought you were much more polite than that! That is no way to great someone at all - especially an old friend." His brown eyes flickered in an odd way as he chuckled softly.

I spit at him, "You are no friend of mine, you bastard. Now answer me, what the_ fuck_ are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course! Who else would I come here to see?"

I stood up, completely abandoning my guitar, while I hissed out, "I hate you. I never want to see you again." I whipped around and began to head towards the door, but I turned back to face him with a warning, "Oh, and if I ever find you even fifty feet close to Kage, I'll rip your heart out, you got that, Atreyu?"

"You can have your precious _Kier_. It's Master you want to look out for." He told me.

"I can't believe you joined her," I said to him coldly, my voice drenched in hate. "I can't believe you betrayed me - _us_!"

Atreyu's smile grew as he responded, "You must understand, my dear Soran, I believe that _she _is right. Look at the world! It was falling into its own destruction every minute of every day. All Master wants to do is replenish it!"

"By killing everyone and turning them into her own little, demented creatures," I shot back at him.

"But her creatures are _prefect_. Have you seen them? They've come so far. No longer experiments, but the real things. And guess who the first successful one was? Your little friend Slacks."

"HE WAS YOUR FRIEND TOO!" I snapped back.

All he did was laugh.

Not wanting to talk over this anymore, I pushed open the door while completely ignoring his snickering fit. The bastard should just die in the depths of hell. Which ever hell, Shikyo's or the devil's, that is works for me. Memories from the time he was actually my _friend _flooded back to me, but I pushed them out of my mind. Some memories can be deadly.

"Oh, and Soran," he said to me casually as I began to exit the room, "don't think you can hide yourself forever. She'll find out the truth about you soon enough… and when that happens," he then slide this pointer finger across his neck, "I'm going to have to say goodbye to you forever."

I slammed the door in his face. Once outside I leaned against the wood as I heard his chuckling from inside. I sighed and muttered absentmindedly aloud, "See, K.G., I told you that you wouldn't believe me 'bout the whole ordeal. Sometimes I don't even believe it myself."

* * *

Tails' POV

My stomach growled as I stared up at the ceiling. I could get up and grab a bite to eat, but at the same time, maybe if I laid here for a few more minutes reviewing the information I knew I would come up with some brilliant theory about Shikyo. The first sounded like a dandy idea and the latter… well, right now it seemed impossible. I have come up with the conclusion, so far, that either

A. I've skipped over a fact about Shikyo

or

B. I don't have enough information

Both were very possible. Skipping over information is a frequent mistake that many happen to do, and not having enough information is always true in almost any case. To tell the truth, both conclusions could be right.

I rubbed my eyes and forced them to stay opened. I really needed sleep tonight. I actually fell asleep while working with Amy for about fifteen minutes, but all I saw was darkness. Not vision, no fire, just black. And damn did it feel good. Maybe I could fall asleep again….

"MEEP!"

I cursed inwardly. With the little Chao around there was no way I could attempt shuteye. I did not say a word about it though as I sat up to look at him. He seemed excited and he danced on the arm of the couch with a book in his hands.

"Whatcha got there, little guy?" I asked him. My first guess was that it was the war tactics book Ero was reading, and I was expecting the rabbit to come rushing in to get it. I noticed, though, that it was skinnier and looked slightly newer. I saw burn marks on the edges, but other than that it was in perfect condition.

"Book," he answered happily. "Meep find book!"

I smiled sweetly, hoping that if he finds out I'm pleased for him and his accomplishment he might leave me to my sleep. "Congrats. I'm proud of you."

He shoved the book, title first, into my face as he screamed, "READ TO MEEP!"

I grunted. Sleep now was gone from my near future. I grabbed the book, not wanting to argue, and took a look at the cover. Once I saw the title, believe me, I became much more interested.

DREAMWORLDS _by Ai Muraoko_

* * *

Hey, sorry this damn chapter came out so freakin late. I have a good excuse too. I was almost done with it on a bright shiny day when my dog accidentally pulls the power cord to the computer. Computer turns off, and not only did it not save my changes, but just happened to decide to delete the entire chapter to never be found again. Believe me, I was pissed. That chapter was like 12 pages too (no joke). Argh.

But other than the slight (cough) delay, I'm quite happy with the chapter. Though I hate Atreyu (stab). I can't wait to finally release information on dreamworlds. Finally something gets interesting, ay?

Another thing that took me so long with the chapter was I got an email from someone asking me about Shikyo's insanity, so I wrote an explanation. Hope you enjoy (sorta):

_**Shikyo's Disease - OCD**_

The other day someone asked me if Shikyo's insanity came from a severe case of paranoia, came genetically, or what. Though paranoia does have something to do with it, Shikyo's lunacy actually comes from a disease known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's an illness that usually begins in the preschool years, but it most noticeable around your twenties (Shikyo was around 24 when it began taking effect on her). OCD is a medical brain disorder that makes the information processing difficult, often making a person become obsessed with one or two ideas. For most victims the obsession is with germs and they have the idea that they are contaminated and that they can contaminate others. You may have heard of this disease while learning about Howard Hughes, one of the richest men that have ever lived and a genius. There are a couple of cases though that does not involve an obsession with germs, but instead the victim of the ailment becomes fixated with a person or an insane ideal (this happens with about .5-1 of OCD victims)

**Shikyo's Obsessions: **

Kage/Keita (She seems to switch between the two which is common in OCD patients)

"Perfect" Dreamworld

_(Some would consider Tails an obsession, but he mostly goes with Keita)_

The reason that Shikyo is so keen on making her dreamworld perfect is because OCD victims have the feeling that everything must be done "just so", or perfectly. Most contain themselves in rooms they believe are "safe", but with the conditions Shikyo's was based on, _everything _has to be flawless. This results in the "Perfect" Dreamworld and the "Perfect" Creatures. The obsession of people usually is from the patient admiring them before the disease strikes.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder patients have to do things in lists and do them exactly right or else they believe the "process" is flawed. Though it is a bit more hidden, Shikyo has a general process that she does follow. Hers does have exceptions, but for the most part is the same:

**Shikyo's _Process_:**

1. Know facts about the victim/Find their fears

2. Show them their fears for exactly the amount of time it takes them to go insane

3. Convince the victim the fears are real/Make them go insane

4. Making the victims obey

5. Kill them/use them for what purpose they must be used for

People with OCD can distinguish what is really and what is not for the most part and Shikyo can do this. Though to us modernists most of what Shikyo does is unrealistic, like a "Perfect" Dreamworld, but Kage and the other spiritualists would not be acting so rash about it if it could not happen (most spiritualists could care less if the modern world died). OCD people can see things differently though. For example, Shikyo thinks how she treats Kage is right, while most know that it is cruel and unjust.

Shikyo to find treatment for this condition before it took over was almost impossible. Most modern people see three to four doctors and spend more than nine years trying to find treatment before they are diagnosed correctly. This would be even harder for a spiritualist, especially since seeing a modern doctor would be out of the question.

So... yah... See, I don't make people insane just because they are! (Cheesy smile) I do research.

P.S. Shikyo's obsessed with muffins too. (Only one person will get this, so please other people, don't ask. It's a long story for another day)

May You Not Go Insane,

Kelsey (Shiming-star)


	48. Chapter 47

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 47

Tails' POV

If circumstances where like they were three months ago, I would not be interested in this small, neatly-written book I was now intensely reading. Actually, now thinking about it, if things were the way they were back then than the people crowding over me reading too would be going on with their normal lives (for the most part) and the world would not be in such a terrible state. But it was not three months ago, for now is now, so really past conditions should not be discussed, though it is nice to reminisce. The point is that what three months ago I would find tedious is now my greatest interest and back then the people now around me I would not call good company, but now they are my closest friends. Weird how a few months can change a person so greatly.

The book was not typed like a normal modern book would be, but was instead trimly written in black ink. Each letter could be easily recognized so there was no mistake of what the word was. It was extremely skinny, but had to be at least seventy to one hundred pages (depending on how thin spiritualist pages are). I had to admit that I was impressed, even if it was Shikyo's former self. Her vocabulary was vaster than I first expected.

I flipped around the book looking for a certain section. I knew that soon after everyone left I would have to get started on studying the entire thing in great detail, but at the moment I wanted to figure something out – I wanted to know the effects you would see to know how close the dreamworld was to being complete. I was afraid that Shikyo was closer than we had first thought to accomplishing her goal. Also, if we can track the progress of the dreamworld then we can have a better estimate of how much time we have to form the W.A. As I flipped through though I became worried. Shikyo might not have information in here about 'real' dreamworlds. When she wrote it she was probably not even thinking about killing everyone and making the entire world her play-place (a.k.a. her 'Perfect' Dreamworld). I might be out of luck.

"I don't exactly see how that book is going to help us," General Faron stated.

I replied plainly, "If I find what I'm looking for then, believe me, it will help – especially you." I did not bother to look up to see if any expressions went across his face, but instead continued to scan over the text in hopes of finding what I needed. I was almost done with all the pages. Dammit.

Then I came across an interesting paragraph. It read a bit like this:

_Making a dreamworld is a long and complex process, and can be ruined in a matter of moments if you do not protect it properly. I discovered this rather quickly and have come up with a solution – Guardians. The art of necromancy is needed to gain the protectors. Kill several living things (I did ants for mine) and raise their souls into the forming dreamworld. They will be asleep for quite some time, but will activate when the dreamworld is fifty percent completed and will start protecting it at eighty percent. The Guardians protect your dreamworld from outside intrusion and keep the maker safe inside. Vital to a dreamworld._

"Do you think Shikyo will have Guardians," I muttered aloud, wanting to take the answer of anyone who might have the answer.

"Yes," Soran, whose head was actually on my shoulder thanks to Ero pushing it down to see better, spat out almost instantly. He shook his head in an attempt to shake the rabbit's hand off. He actually seemed annoyed by it.

"They're the perfect creatures," Kage muttered quietly.

There was a hushed silence that went over us when Kage spoke, though the General or the Princess were not sure of exactly what the perfect creatures were – I myself barely know more than those two do actually, but at least I knew what their purpose was. "Alright," I muttered, wanting some noise to fill the air, "when these 'Guardians' come around we will know that the dreamworld is fifty percent complete. We have more time than I expected for us to complete this World Army and make a thorough strategy on how to defeat Shikyo and her armies."

"Does it say exactly how long a dreamworld takes to be formed," Amy asked, staring deeply at the page trying to look for an answer.

"Not from what I see, but I'm going to read this entire book as quickly as possible. I'll probably find useful things in here that can help us greatly."

The General stood up; relief shining on his face that he had a lot more time than first predicted. He began to leave, happy with the information that he had received, but Soran muttered, seriousness in his voice, "Still, General, work with haste, but be weary of making mistakes. The Guardians might come sooner than we all expect." He spoke as if he almost knew the creatures were on their way.

Faron faltered, but nodded, "I shall."

The book was not as much help as I first anticipated, and a great disappointment this finding was. Half of it was because I did not notice that part of the book was actually in a different language (in which was not French or the other language Kage speaks). Who writes a book with two separate languages? Obliviously the spiritualists. Now thinking about it, the book Kage was reading on the hill was in what I suspect now to be French and English. Odd that they would do that to people. What if they don't know the language?

The second half of the reason the book was not much aid to my quest was a bit more idiotic though. The only truly useful thing in the manuscript was the Guardian information. Everything else was telling about how making a dreamworld was extremely dangerous, which was something I already knew all too well.

If I had to come out with something positive though, it was the Guardians. It gave no information about what their appearance was, but I had the feeling that once I saw one I would immediately know it was one of the evil creatures Shikyo calls _perfect_. Maybe they would be dragons, or some other type of lizard. Or maybe they are not lizards at all. I was not exactly sure what to expect, really. They're arrival though was not unwanted. When they came scurrying around we will know what the dreamworld is fifty percent complete. Then, the true war will begin and the true way to killing Shikyo might be revealed.

I squinted my eyes as I stared down at the page I was currently reading. I was not sure why, but I did not bother to flick on the lights when I entered my corridors, and instead I immediately sat down in the peace and quiet to read. The only that lightened the room was the sunlight, which was letting in blackish rays. The blots of black that were beginning to dot the sun have started to mold together. The trees were now completely lifeless and hunched over in a crippled-like state, as the flowers themselves were turning into black goo. The red cracks have began to take over the navy blue sky, for now there is more red than blue. It was a sad sight to see. I missed the light blue sky with the white puffy clouds, the trees, and the flowers. These were things I used to take for granted, but if the world gets out of this alive, I know that I will thank God for them every single day.

I shut the book with a sigh when no useful information came up on the page. This truly was a disappointment. I took a quick at the cover once more. DREAMWORLDS_ by Ai Muraoko_. Then, slowly, I realized something. All Ai blabbed about in the English side of the book was why you should not make a dreamworld and a few things about how to predict them (including the Guardians). What if the reader is not supposed to be able to read the book so that (s)he cannot attempt to form a dreamworld…? I felt like chucking the book against the wall. Dammit! This really is bullshit. The book that can probably solve everything is not supposed to be read. For all I know, Ai could have made up the language. Shit.

Something on the table caught my eye when I got up from my chair. I could not exactly tell what it was because of the condition of the room, but nevertheless it was much more interesting than a book that is suppose to help us defeat Shikyo, but isn't actually aiding us at all. So I dropped Ai's book and made my way over to the table to find that it was a Bible… well, if you would even consider it that. It was falling apart. The binding was torn as the pages were. The cover was half on. Maybe it was Kage's? I was not exactly sure. I did not see why the castle would keep such a beaten Bible. I noticed on the front, on the half torn cover, something was engraved in it. I picked it up and had to peer at it for a few seconds to figure out what it said. It was something like _Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio_. It seemed French to me.

When I opened the book it just about fell apart. Why would someone keep such a ragged Bible anyway? It immediately opened to a chapter which was too close to the beginning for it to accidentally open there. It was like it was pressed to open there; had to open there. It opened to Exodus. The two pages were covered with writing that was obviously using blood as ink. It said:

_**The Ten Commandments **_

**Never listen to the voices in your head.**

**Never close your eyes.**

**Never hesitate.**

**Never leave yourself open for attack.**

**Never bare the colour red.**

**Never let _HER _notice you.**

**Never reveal your thoughts.**

**Never think nothing is possible. **

**Never underestimate. **

**Never let yourself get caught. **

Those were definitely different commandments than the ones I learned in Sunday school. Maybe these were the rules that Kage and Soran have been talking about – though they said something about them rarely. I ran my hand across the page absentmindedly. I noticed that on the top of the pages, above the page numbers, was the quote _Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio. _I hate not knowing different languages. I knew what my electives for high school were going to be – of course, if I ever made it there – foreign languages.

I slipped out my notebook, which had newly added information on the Guardians and wrote down the quote. I'd have to ask Kage about it later, but then he would know I was snooping around his stuff. Shit. Most would not care if you were reading their Bible, but this was _Kage's _Bible. That meant something.

I still could not help but flip through the pages though. They were marked with notes, most of them in different languages, and had many verses underlined. I noticed though that the citation on the front of the book was written on every page. Maybe it was a curse or something…

When I got closer to the end of the Bible I stopped on a particular page. A chapter of Revelation was circled several times in dry blood and marked all over. It was not a long chapter, nor was it short, but apparently in was severely important to him. The words were hard to comprehend because of the blood covering them, but I still read:

_**Revelation 17**_

_One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." _

_Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead:_

_MYSTERY_

_BABYLON THE GREAT_

_THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUES_

_AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH_

_I saw the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus._

_When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come._

_"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is the eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction._

_The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lam will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." _

_Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." _

The first thing I noticed about the chapter was the part with MYSTERY in it. I rapidly wrote the capitalized part in chapter. Maybe this verse is where the name 'Mystery' for Shikyo came from… Also, the prostitute remained me of Shikyo in a way. _They will eat her flesh and burn her with fire_. I understood why Kage was obsessed with this chapter. It was like God telling him He will kill Shikyo for her sins…

When the door opened I swiftly shut the Bible. I looked up to find Amy, who was wearing one of the Princess's fancy dresses (her's is currently being repair from wears and tares), was standing in the doorway with a slightly aghast look on her face. I then noticed that the hem of the pink, frilly dress was dyed in blood. "Everything alright," I asked as I stood up completely.

"It struck again," she muttered.

The dining room, many times, has been my haven. Kage and I usually spent our long, sleepless nights sitting in the comfortable chairs chatting away and trying to keep our minds off of the evil demon plaguing us (the throne room has been used once or twice, but the King and Faron are usually up themselves in there). But now looking at it I knew I would not want to come in here for a while.

Bodies were tacked all over the walls in a bloody mess. The ceiling could not be seen because so many bodies were hanging from it. Red fluids flooded the room enough that whenever anyone would move there would be a splash. Most of the victims' eyes were gorged out and laying on the table on plates. Most of the bodies were wrinkly, almost as though their life was sucked right out of them. I sighed when I saw the little raccoon girl's body on the ceiling. It was bound to happen.

"Great, Shikyo's left us a little present in our eating corridor," Faron said in a sarcastic-like tone.

Kage, who did not show any attempts to be listening to the General or looking the general direction we were at all, poked a body, which appeared to be lion, thoughtfully. He sniffed it once and pulled away appalled. "This wasn't Shikyo. She has no time now to be killing random people with her own hands unless their death is too important to let someone else take care of. One of her minions is in the castle."

"We have done background checks on everyone, freak," Faron told him. "Every person that seemed suspicious was kicked out of the castle long ago."

The black kitsune cocked an eyebrow, "Everyone?"

I approached an echidna slowly, making sure not to get too close in case Shikyo made it come back to life. It was not Knuckles surprisingly, but instead it was pale white with a horrified face plastered on his head. His mouth was hanging open as though he was screaming when killed. How in the world could no one hear his cries? The halls echoed perfectly – I know this because if anyone would yell the sound would bounce of the walls and get rather annoying.

I felt something slimy touch my head. I leaped out of the way skittishly and with a yelp. Once I quieted myself down I gave the wall a look to find that it was a lizard's elongated tongue, which was covered in blood. I shuttered.

"I think I know who did this," Kage declared as smugly as he could.

Ero sighed, "No you don't. You're probably going to convict a totally innocent person… and overlook the real culprit."

"Crazy Guy, you must have more faith in me than that!" The black kitsune told him as he passed him by. "Anyway, who delivered the army? Hmm?" He asked him, batting his eyes mockingly.

Ero gave him an odd look, "And _you_ say I'm gay."

But the black kitsune was already off with the wind. I could understand why Ero was worried about Kage going alone to find the predator. The black kitsune depended much on his first instincts about a person – and he probably learned it from the person worrying about him: Ero. Ero was dogmatic and I already knew who he was thinking was the criminal – Soran. Poor cat. I must admit though, Soran is not the clearest of characters. He definitely has his past…

"I'm sure K.G. will find who did this sure enough," Soran told everyone, a wide smile spread happily across his face.

Ero growled at him, "Why do you trust him on everything? Kage is not exactly the most trustworthy in the world." The rabbit had a point. Kage was someone you would trust on the battlefield… but everywhere else, I don't know…

"Oh my god, he's not?" Faron asked sardonically.

The cougar thought for a moment, but then smartly answered, "You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough."

There was a moment of silence before the rabbit snapped, "Shut up," and followed after Kage, who was probably at the moment disturbing the peace… as always.

Soran stared at the door as though he was confused. "Ero doesn't like me, does he?" He asked innocently.

Amy's POV

"I brought you some tea, sir," I called as I pushed open the door to the white cougar's room. When I was met face-to-face with darkness at first I thought maybe Soran had left, but soon I saw his silhouette sitting over by the window. He seemed to be polishing something that looked too much like a sword.

I was about to flick on the lights, but he quickly said, "No, no, no light. The oil blemishes with florescent light waves."

I removed my hand from the light switch swiftly. "What are you polishing a sword for?" I asked as I paced across the room until I was close enough to give him the cup of raspberry tea. I knew that the world was in terrible danger at the moment, but I never thought I'd walk into Soran's room and find him cleaning a sword. I wonder what the oil was doing for the sword anyway…

Even though darkness invaded the room, I could still see Soran's eyes light up when he saw the cup of tea. "Thank you so much. You really didn't have to." He totally forgot about his sword and my question as he reached for the cup.

I decided to disregard his ignorance to my question. "You're welcome, sir."

"Please, no sirs. Call me Soran," he said to me with a smile. He took a sip of the tea and sighed, "Perfect." I turned to leave, but with a mutter he stopped me. "Amy, why do you suppose Ero hates me?"

"He thinks you work for Shikyo," I answered immediately. I was pretty sure the cougar already knew this information, but he probably wanted it reinforced by another to make sure his assumption was correct.

He nodded slowly, staring at the wall. "Ah, I see." His smile did not come off his face though it seemed like he was sad about the fact I just told him. I wonder why he smiles all the time, even when he is sad or mad… He took another taste of his tea and said his next sentence so absentmindedly that it seemed like he forgot I was here. "This is not my day…"

Tails' POV

"You look frustrated," a voice said to me.

I looked up from Ai's book and my notepad to come face-to-face with the Princess. I had no idea whether she was being sarcastic or not. _Everyone _in the castle was aggravated at the moment. I decided not to answer her and continue on to with my work. When I was irritated I was usually rude and did not want to get into a fight – especially with a Princess. I stared at the different language with anger. There was silence for a moment across the room (which everyone was in except for Kage, who disappeared to God knows where – he has been gone for over an hour), and I did not hear the Joruri's presence move. She obviously wanted me to say something. So as politely as I could, though it still sounded discourteous, I spoke, "Well, I am."

"Most of the book is in a different language, correct?" She asked as she peered over to see the book's content. "I would say to decode it on the internet, but currently satellite signals have not been reaching Mobius. Telephone lines are down also. Only local stations are coming in, and any plane that goes up in the sky has been taken down by an unknown, flying league of Shikyo's minions. We are in a difficult position." When I only glanced up at her and continued working as though she was not there, she said, "I will send out for a translator."

In pure annoyance I snapped, "I don't know what language it is!"

"If you give me the book, I'm sure I can figure it out," she told me calmly. I gave her a look and noticed that she had an impatient expression on her face. I sighed roughly as I flipped the book shut. She took it from my hands when I offered it and began to scan through it herself. "It looks German to me. Maybe even Italian. Not sure."

Just as I was going to say something to her, the door swung open and in walked Kage. When the door opened in such a manner I was not surprised it was him – he usually makes his entrance this way. He seemed pompous of himself, almost prouder than when he brought the Dragon's army to Hatsu. "I am back," he announced loudly, making sure everyone in the room could hear, "and I have brought some bloody wine!"

Right when he said 'wine' was when I noticed that the bottle was in his hand and a goblet in the other. I felt the urge to jump up and snatch it from him. I did not feel like taking care of an intoxicated Kage again. That night with the beer was bad enough. He seemed sober though, or should I say, as sober as he could be.

Joruri looked him up in down in rage and bewilderment. "What are you doing with my wine?"

"Oh, I got bored and I wanted to try it," the black kitsune replied in total confidence, "Especially since you drink it constantly and all." That's when I realized he knew something we didn't. Kage was certain with himself most of the time (on the outside it seemed like it at least – who knew if he was really self-confident deep inside his mind), but only when he felt above us in knowledge did he act like this. He swirled over to Soran, opened the loose cork of the half-empty bottle, and made the cougar take a whiff of it. "Come now, doesn't it smell _lovely_?"

Soran took another quick sniff and responded happily, "Yes it does! It definitely smells familiar. Smells Downundain."

"Kage, what is the point of this?" Joruri asked rudely, which was unlike her.

He swirled to meet her eye-to-eye. "Because, my Bitchess, I think _you _are the one that is responsible for not only the deaths in the castle, but also for the Queen's." When he saw her disbelieving face along with the rest of ours, he said, "Since I am such a nice person, I will explain to your small minds!"

He cleared his throat, "First off, to find the felon, I had to eliminate the working staff of the Castle. Why? Because even though the General is a complete dumb-ass, he's good at his job – meaning he really did back-check every person that worked in the castle periodically and kicked them out even if they had a clean record if he thought they were dubious. That left me members working in the Army, the royal family, and the people outside the castle allowed to enter. My mind reminded me that the shrew told us _wine _killed him, so I knocked of people from the outside. Why would they bring wine so far inside? So the Army and royal family were left. The only person in the castle I remember ever drinking wine was the Bitchess. Though back then I doubted it was her, I still went on a hunt for her wine.

"How did I know that there was only type of wine the Bitchess ordered? Easy. Whenever she would address the butler she would say 'bring me a glass of wine'. She never said a specific kind, so obviously the waiter knew what to get her each time. So I started ordering food and casually asked for the wine she drank so I could taste it." He turned to Ero and poured him a bit of the wine. "Ero, would you mind tasting this?"

The rabbit gave him and odd look and gave him a reluctant "… Sure." He took the glass from him and took a sip. He seemed fine as he drank it, but afterwards his face twisted into a disgusted looking expression. "It tastes like… ew, Kage, is that lemur blood…?"

Kage yelped, "Yes! _Exactly_! Lemur blood! I highly doubt that even in the _modern_ society blood is used for alcoholic drinks."

I looked at the Princess in a totally new light. She stared at Kage in absolute fury, "So it's blood! That lone fact cannot make it so you can accuse me of a mass murdering crime. How dare you think that!"

"Then, may I ask you this, Bitchess," the black kitsune said calmly to Joruri, who now looked like she was going to erupt. "Why did a dead lion tacked to the wall of the dining hall smell like a lemur?"

Joruri's face, in the matter of three seconds, turned from angry, to bewildered, to fearful. She collected herself though and an evil, grinning smirk fell onto her face. Suddenly she looked not like the peaceful Princess I knew, but instead like a mad woman, "Fine, so it was me. But no one will believe you. My father, Faron, no one. I'm the sweet, innocent Princess. Why would I want to work for someone trying to destroy my kingdom? They will never think it's because I was promised land and wonders in Master's Dreamworld. If you kill me, my father will order your deaths! Then the game is over! The Mystery wins."

Kage sighed, "Kill her."

Suddenly, Meep's extended claws ripped through her neck like daggers and the Princess's head fell to the floor, soon followed by her body. A bloody puddle soon formed around her, soaking the carpet and dying it red.

"Oh my gosh," Amy said, recovering from the shock. "Kage, what are we going to do? No one is going to believe us!"

The black kitsune simply nodded his head over to the door. I glanced over to find that Faron was and had been standing right there throughout the entire conversation.

It was hard to get over the fact that Joruri was never really on our side. She had been always one of the ones I swore would never betray, but apparently she was already working for Shikyo before I even came into the picture. I sighed as I flipped idly through the needed-to-be-translated book. I was happy that I did not have to break the news to the already stressed out king – Faron did that job for us. I heard him scream from the throne room. I hated that we had to kill her so quickly, so mercilessly, but it had to be done. She could not live any longer. Not after what she had done.

I glimpsed up from the book when I heard footsteps coming down the abandoned hallway of my picking. My eyes lightened when I saw who it was. "Captain Little!"

The mouse's ears perked up when he heard me call out his name, and when he saw me he came rushing over. "Tails! It's been forever. How are you?"

"I've had my better days," I admitted with a smile. Around that time was when I took notice of a rat that was standing close behind him. The rat was dirty, beaten-up, as though he had been taken off the street. He had a crooked smile on his face as his brown eyes flickered in a way that seemed unnatural. "What are you doing around here?"

"I was sent by the General to find someone who can help you with that book. Just happened to find him on the street," he said as he pointed to the person behind him.

The rat looked at the Captain and then to me, "So this is the boy you were speaking about, eh?" He gave me a bow. "Hello, my name is Atreyu. I am the translator you sent for…"

Ello, mates! Did you like the chapter? I think this is my favorite one. Sorry it took so long to come out, but it was almost done and then the bombing in London happened. I think most of you know this, but I am from England (moved over to the United States about a year ago) and have a lot of family over there. My uncle was in one of the subway trains when the terrorist attacks happened and got injured. For a while we thought we were going to have to fly over there, but he is doing fine now thankfully. So during the course of the last three days I've had to pack, unpack, pack again, and then finally unpack for the last time (we're not going over there, by the way). So that stunk arse. Please keep London in your prays. We are going through a rough time right now. Thank you.

Not Sure Where She Is Going At the Moment,

Kelsey

"_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why not -----."_


	49. Chapter 48

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 48

Tails' POV

"I'm so happy we found a translator," Amy cried, swirling around and then throwing her arms around my neck. I stiffened up. She smiled happily and made no indication that she was going to let go of me anytime soon. "I bet Shikyo was not expecting him to show up on our now-lucky doorstep, huh? She's probably raving mad at the moment. This is wonderful!"

I nodded, letting a small grin rest on my features. I had to admit, I was not expecting a translator to show up so soon - or actually, now thinking about it, I would not have been surprised if one did not show up at all. Atreyu's arrival has marked a new spot in the fight for good. We were not close to even thinking about raiding Shikyo's lair yet, but at least now we could know more information about the evil she is trying to create. To make the situation better, the rat had offered his services for free and started translating straight away; saying that being in the presence of us was a good enough reward. Wow, this was almost too good to be true. "Yes, I guess this is good," I told her, loosening my posture so that I would be less tense in her arms.

Right when I made the attempt to be casual about her touching me, she flung her arms off of me so that she could spin around once more. It made me warm inside that she was this happy. I liked seeing anyone in the group I was in enjoying themselves. Usually we're serious and fearing for our lives, but seeing joy spread across one of their faces, even if it was only for a moment, was comforting to me. Caring about them was like the only sanity I think I possess. If I was still alone in this, I would have been far gone long ago. It was a scary thought. I did my best to push it out of my mind, "Why don't you go tell the others. I bet they'll be just as happy as you are about Atreyu's arrival."

"Alright, I shall!" Amy said. She skipped out of the room, taking a few more twirls before leaving the scene.

The smile slipped right off my face once she was gone. I set my focus back on the notebook paper which has become again my main concern since Ai's book was off of my hands and being translated. And how I hated this sheet of paper. Sometimes I swear it will get the best of me. I wish that the answer would just pop out with a huge sign with flashing lights and alarms... or Shikyo telling me. Which ever one will really work for me. I glanced at the lined paper in disgust. I swore it laughed at me. I threw the notepad across the room and chuckled when it hit the wall. I wish it could feel pain... Still, the information on the page burned into my mind.

_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat._

_I say that we take a cannon,_

_Aim it at her door and then,_

_Knock three times and when she answers,_

_Shikyo will be no more!_

_MYSTERY_

_BABYLON THE GREAT  
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUES_

_AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH_

_Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio_

I have a feeling that they all go together. I'm not sure how, but they do - some way, somehow. The only things I know about any of the writing was that the poem was written by the victims in the Castle dungeons, Mystery was a handle (name), and that the foreign language (which, by the way, is not French - Amy had no idea what it said) had to be some type of warning or a curse. What they meant though was completely out of reach. Kage probably knew what the last phrase meant, but right now was not the time to get into a fight with him about how I even came across the sentence. It would have to be answered sometime though. Maybe Atreyu could translate it. It's very helpful having him around. I wonder if the others have met him yet...

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Soran's POV

"Soran!"

I glanced up from my cup of tea to find an over-excited Kage bounding my way. And I must say, seeing the black kitsune thrilled like this was quite the sight to behold. My smile widened from seeing him this way. Being happy was not only uplifting to other people around you, but is also good for the body. Something about brain cells and such.

He sat down next to me, panting as though he was almost out of breath. "You'll never believe this," he told me with a plastered smile.

"I'm pretty sure I will," I said to him. "Shoot it at me."

He straightened his posture in the chair and cleared his throat, "Remember the translator the runt sent out for? Well, they just got one."

"That's wonderful! I must go meet ----."

He shook his head while cutting me off by saying this, "That isn't the good part. You'll never guess who he is." Kage's smile turned into a full blast grin. "Soran, the translator is Atreyu! Atreyu's alive!"

The smile was wiped right off of my face. "A-Atreyu?" That's just not right.


	50. Chapter 49

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 49

Tails' POV

"Now," Faron told us, "today I'm going to show you idiots how to use a flamethrower."

I shifted uncomfortably in the metal seat I was placed in. I noticed that Faron's eyes flashed as I knew he was thinking of the thousand things that could happen and probably will occur when my lot and I get our hands upon the flame throwing machines - I understood his fear all too well. _I _don't even trust myself with a flamethrower. It must be very hard for him to have to hand us destructive objects, especially ones that spurt fire over 40 meters. I glanced over to Kage, who was wide eyed with excitement, just like the rest of the spiritualists - even Nicole, who didn't even understand the sentence. Nobody knows what they think a flamethrower is, which is a scary thought. Maybe they think flamethrowers are like a catapult that shot flaming rocks or something. I had no idea. Earlier today, though, the higher officials of the World Army were here to discuss weaponry, which we were not invited to. Instead we got our own little tutoring session - probably so that we would not embarrass the General amongst his peers. We could not be that embarrassing could we? Yeah, we probably are.

"Oh, I've always wanted to try out a flamethrower!" Soran commented, a wide grin planted on his face as he clamped his hands together. He turned to Ero and said, "Did you know that the flamethrower, originally made by the Greeks, was one of the first steps toward basic firearms?"

The rabbit was not impressed by the information. One, because he was not sure what firearms were, and second, it was _Soran _telling him this. "No, and do I care? No."

The General cleared his throat, motioning our attention. His face molded into a scowl when Kage leaned over to Nicole and told her something in French that was obviously funny to the tan cat. Faron snapped, angry at the black kitsune, as always. "During this, unless you have a question about flamethrowers, there will be no talking - no sound! Am I clear?" And just to mock us, he continued. "Is there a problem with that? Does someone not understand? Do I need to make it simpler for your dumb minds to comprehend?"

Kage spoke out, "Do we have to be as silent as the ------?"

"_NO_," the General interrupted with a curt answer. He took a deep breath, doing his best to calm down. "No. Just shut up and let me get on with this, will you?" There was no answer, which Faron was extremely pleased with. He turned his back towards us and pulled out a handheld flamethrowers with a rather large backpack attached to the gun itself with a tube. He set the backpack on the chair he had brought up for himself and he remain standing with the gun in his hand. "Now, this is a flamethrower... It can shoot a stream of fire over 50 feet, or if you will, 46 meters."

"Can I burn you with it?" Kage asked, shooting his hand up into the air, just as I had taught him to do when he was asking questions. Course, he did it in the wrong order, but at least he remembered.

"Shut up, Kage, that is not a question involving the flamethrower itself - and no, fuck you! I'll burn you before you can even figure out how it works!" Faron answered with a growl, threatening the black kitsune by pointing the gun, which the General obviously knew how to work to perfection since he was teaching us its functions. Kage slumped down in his seat, knowing his place in the situation.

When it was silent in the room again, Faron did his best to continue on with what he was saying, trying to push out burning Kage with the flamethrower, which would be a victory for him. "Now, the backpack contains three cylinder tanks. The two outside tanks hold a flammable, oil-based liquid fuel. They have a screw on cap so that the liquid can be replaced easily, so you might want to carry around a few extra tanks of the stuff - it runs out quickly. The middle tank holds a flammable, compressed gas called butane. It's harder to replace the contents in this tank, especially during action. It shouldn't run out on you too quickly though, so do your best not to worry about it..." He held up the gun itself so that we'd focus on the gun itself. "The gun housing has a long rod running through it, with a valve plug around the end of it. A spring at the back of the gun pushes the rod forward towards the nozzle, pressing the plug into the valve seat. It is important that you keep this rod intact and unharmed because it is the thing that keeps all the unnecessary fuel in the backpack while the pressurized fuel can go through to make the flame. If broken, all excess fuel will be released and all you will have is a useless piece of scrap metal attached to a heavy backpack.

"Now, the pressurized fuel that was allowed to past through goes past the ignition system. When the ignition valve is open, the butane from the middle cylinder tank that flows through a long length of the hose to the end of the gun. Here it is mixed with air and released through several small holes in the chamber in front of the nozzle. The two spark plugs that are positioned in front of the nozzle, which was powered by a portable battery, which has more than 100 hours of life, so you won't have to worry about changing that anytime soon. To prepare the gun, the operator opens the ignition valve and presses a button that activates the spark plug. This creates a small flame in front of the nozzle, which ignites the flowing fuel, creating a fire stream." He sighed, "Any questions?"

There was silence for a moment as we looked to each other with bewildered faces. Finally, Kage said, "All I heard from you was 'blah, blah, blah, big flame, blah, I'm a fuckin dumb-ass General, blah, blah, I'm in a relationship with Ero, blah, blah, blah, I should die.'"

The rabbit was about to take care of the problem, but Faron sarcastically laughed, "Haha, funny," and shot the flamethrower at him before Ero could even rapped his fingers around Kage's neck. The General made sure that the flame wouldn't harm any of us, but it got close enough that we were completely fooled and moved back our chairs to avoid being burned. Kage, on the other hand, yelped when he saw the fire coming towards him and took a leap behind Soran's chair. The cougar was so surprised when the black kitsune hit the back of his chair that he leaned back and then him and the chair flew backwards on top of Kage. Atreyu tried to catch him, but was unsuccessful.

When the smoke cleared, the General's snickers echoed in the room. "Wow," Faron said, "that had to be the funniest thing I have ever seen." He made puppy eyes and asked in a baby voice, "Awww, Kaggie, are you scared of a little fire? Hmmm? Need your mum or something? I'll call her for you - what's her name?"

Kage, after recovering from the shock like the rest of us, answered curtly with a growl, "It starts with an _F_, ends with a _UCK _- maiden name is _YOU_." With that, picking up not only himself but his pride, he stomped out of the room without even hearing Faron's reply. "You will see lots of fire," the black kitsune called just loud enough so his enemy could here, "you will be visited by my good friend the Dragon!" And then he was completely gone.

"... Wow, that was great," Faron said, turning away from us while gathering up the flamethrower and laughing, "that was just great..." He faced as again, his general mask back on as he announced, "Excuse me, but I need to go affiliate myself with more... important matters. I leave all other weapons to be explained by our Expert Weaponry Advisor, Douglas Graham." The General took a leave with the first real smile I have ever seen on his face, and I heard him muttered under his breath, "Note, Kage and flamethrowers don't mix." Once Faron was out of sight, Douglas Graham replaced him on the stand.

I blinked after I realized who it was. "Douglas?"

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Soran's POV

I slinked out of the room, quietly shutting the oak door behind me. I was awed by firearms and how they functioned, but I liked to stay with the more... natural weaponry. I considered going to the kitchen to fix some nice, hot, raspberry tea, but decided against it. The butler was getting irritated with my requests for it, and I hate to be an annoyance to him. I drink it too much anyway - its quite addicting.

My thoughts of tea quickly faded though when I spotted the cursed rat coming towards me with a tray with cups on it. I focused my eyes elsewhere, doing my best to ignore him. Maybe he would just walk by - yeah right. I glanced at the cups when he stopped next to me, a scowl on my face. I was going to say something, a smart remark or a threat, but my throat dried up in disgust when I felt his gaze upon me. I hate him. Why can't he figure that out? I moved back to leave without a word, but he blocked my path.

"I brought you your tea," he told me sniggering.

I glanced up in his eyes and quickly looked back down at the tea. "It's poisoned," I said. I once again tried to make my getaway, but he grabbed me with a hand that was supposed to be holding the tray. The drinks almost fell, but he recovered the tray as best as possible. I whipped around, growling, "Let me go, you bastard! I can't wait until I can pierce something through your cold, soulless heart. You better watch out because when you least expect it, I'll be there to bring you down - literally. Now fuck off."

He laughed, only firming his grip on my shoulder, "You know you can't kill me. I'm completely safe from your harm, and I will elaborate on why: you had your chance to tell Kage that I betrayed, and that Slacks took the blame for you, but did you? No. And now that I'm here trying to _help_, if you kill me, he will think of you as a murderer, a traitor. He will not believe you about everything you could have told him. He won't believe that I work for Master and Master alone. Kage'll kill you if you succeed in killing me because with my last breath I'll tell him that you killed Slacks - that you were the traitor. He'll believe me. He'll believe a dying man." He cupped my chin, an evil grin spread across his wicked face as he looked down at me possessively. "But I'm hoping we won't have to do that."

I pushed away from him. "Just leave me alone." When I realized that I could actually get away, I stepped back a few steps as I said, "I will kill you. I'll avenge Slacks, Kage, and everyone you ever hurt."

"What about you? Do you seek revenge for yourself?" He asked me, a spark of curiosity hinted in his eyes.

I stopped for a moment, thinking about it. Finally I answered. "No. I am not worth avenging." And I left immediately afterwards.

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Tails' POV

"I still cannot believe that you are a weapons specialist," I told Douglas with a chuckle. "I swore you were just an army cook..."

Douglas answered me, "There was a glitch in the recruiting system. I'm not supposed to be sent on missions since I work on weaponry, but somehow I was drafted for that mission as a cook. To tell the truth, I'm in a higher position than Little, but enough about that." He unlocked a suitcase and pulled out a pistol holder with a gun inside. "This is the STInger 01, one of the most advanced pistols in the world - made for just this situation and it alone." He unsheathed the STInger. It was a silver, double-barreled pistol with a black handle. Though it was quite pretty, and rather shiny, it seemed like a normal pistol to me. The only thing that really made it stand out was the double-barrels and the odd flame emblem running across its side. "It looks like a normal pistol doesn't it?" He asked me, taking a good look at it himself. "Well, actually, it is. It's the bullets that make it unique."

He pulled out a bullet from the case. It was not shaped like a normal bullet. Instead it was a rather large, black ball like thing. Douglas, in record speed, loaded it into the gun and shot at the target across the room. The black ball, when it hit the target, burst up into flames and around two seconds later the whole board was encased in fire.

"Inside the bullet is oxygen and a fuse. When the pistol shoots out the bullet, it heats it enough that the fuse will start to burn. Once the fuse is done it combusts, encasing the entire bullet in a flame. The outside material splats on the target and helps the fire spread with amazing speeds. Two of these can be shot at a time, obviously." I barely noticed that he held out the gun for me to try since I was fixated on the burning target. "Here, you try."

"Me?" I asked, chuckling slightly. "I don't think you want me to use that."

Douglas pointed over to Kage, who was examining the flamethrower at the other side of the room. "It's you or him."

I grabbed the gun out of his grip, "I'll do it. But I'm warning you, I probably will set something on fire I'm not supposed to." I looked at the pistol oddly. "I don't even know how to hold it," I told him in embarrassment. He quickly showed me showed me how to load the bullets into the gun and how to hold it, giving me tiny hints on the way. I never thought using a gun, especially a pistol, could be confusing. I was good with machines, yes, and inventing things, but I never explored weaponry over the years. Never thought about it really. Maybe, if we kill Shikyo and survive this mess, I will look into firearms.

"I made you load dud bullets," he told me. "They work like the real thing, but don't have the fire affect. This way you can shoot them and won't catch something on fire. Convient, eh?"

I nodded, "Very." I cocked the gun, just as he had showed me, and I jumped slightly at the sound. I clumsily aimed at the burnt target, which had recently been extinguished, and shot the STInger 01 with my eyes shut. I slowly opened them to find that I totally missed the target.

Before Douglas could even say a word, I heard a voice from across the room say, "That shot sucked!"

I growled, "Shut it, Kage."

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Soran's POV

"Oh, Ero-pin!" I cried, twirling down the hallway behind the unsuspecting rabbit. I ran up to him, and before he could even turn around to stop me, I attempted to jump on his head, which did not work well. I toppled down to the ground in front of him with a rather large crash. At least he noticed me. I flashed him a grin from the ground. "Hello, mate! I just saw you walking down the hallway and I wanted to talk!"

He gave me a glare and said, "I don't." He made his way around me and continued down the hallway as though I was only a rock and nothing more.

I sat up, staring in silence at his reducing image, and pulled off a melodramatic act, "Oh, Ero-woof, you're so mean! You don't even want anything to do with me!" I buried my face into my hands and made crying noises. I peeked out from a slit between my fingers to find that Ero had turned back and staring at me with death in his eyes. "You won't even listen to what I say! Why? Why!"

"Because you're pure, dead, nasty evil," he answered. He stomped over to me as I stood up and brushed myself off. I just laughed as he dragged on with how I worked with Shikyo and I was there to kill them all. I tuned out during the conversation because, knowing me, I would say something incredibly stupid to drive his hatred for me deeper, and if I tune out then he'll probably just walk away... and then I'll attempt to jump on his head again. Fun! Even though the rabbit loathed me with an extreme passion, wished me dead, and would like to have my head as a trophy, but I still consider him a friend. Of course, it was hard not to like Ero after hearing K.G. talk good about him all the time. When did the kitsune start talking about him to me anyway? Now thinking about it, I didn't even know Ero was a real person when I first heard the name...

_F L A S H B A C K _

_I leaned against the cold, metal wall as I watched Kage from across the room. It was my second time in the room with him and since naming him we have not talked, with the exception of a few words, none of them ever sparking conversation or anything. The kid seemed to want to be to himself and I understood. I, during that time, was not a social person myself either. I did my best to smile at him, though I was under a thick hood and he wasn't looking. Instead, he was quietly drawing designs on the back of a large, beat up, stuffed turtle doll, something I was surprised that he had. The last time that I was placed in this room with him he had no such thing, but the last time I was here was a while ago, though I'm not sure how long. _

_Finally, a hint of courage hit me, and I pushed myself off the wall. I made my way slowly across the room and when I finally arrived to where Kage was huddled up, in the same corner as before, I sat down next to him. He did not even look at me as he continued placing designs on the turtle's shell with his finger. The turtle was missing an eye, had stuffing emerging from its fabric in various spots, and had blood and other bodily fluids here and there. It was dirt, it was as practically as dead as a stuffed animal could be, but Kage still held hard onto it. I removed my eyes from looking at it and instead focused them on Kage. _

_"Hello, Keir," I said, doing my absolute best to sound cheerful, though in Hell that was impossible. I had to speak louder than I would have to him because in the background was the sound of the Machine. The sound was usually unbearable, one of the many things that would drive Shikyo's guinea pigs insane, but in here it was mellowed down, but still hung a presence. _

_"Hi," he said, his voice faint. He picked up the turtle and hugged it close to him, almost as though it was a shield. It was then I realized the animal was almost as big as him._

_I had to start up a conversation now or we were going to sit here in complete silence this entire thing, and not talking to him would make him unease of me again. So I quickly picked out something to talk about. I pointed to his turtle. "Did Master give that to you?" I asked him. _

_He gave a look to the stuffed animal and then nodded. "Yes."_

_"What's his name?" I questioned with a smile. At least I had Kage's attention. "Or do I need to name him too?"_

_"... Ero... Its name is Ero…" _

_E N D O F F L A S H B A C K_

I snapped out of my daydreaming when I heard Ero scream, "Are you even listening to me?"

It took me a moment to recover from the pain of being brought back to the present so quickly, but I quickly struck a pose that made me look smart, and said cleverly, "Only to the information I wanted to listen to." When his face turned red from anger, I laughed and told him, "You look like a tomato, Ero-fruit!"

"Tomatoes are vegetables!" He cried, just for the sake of argument. "If you are going to call me those stupid names at least get the information behind them right!"

"No they aren't, they're fruits," I remarked, twirling around him. "Or better yet: Fruit-veggies! There, both of us are happy!" Once I said that I barely had time to avoid Ero's fingers rapping around my neck. Oh, this was so much fun!

"Hold still and I'll send you to the next world!" He told me, once again trying to attempt to hurt me.

I was about to say something to him about tomatoes and what not when I stumbled into something. I whipped around to apologize to whoever I had bumped into, but before I could even see who it was I was flung to the ground with extreme force. I fell on my head, but avoided the pain as best as I could to see who my attacker was - a Guardian. All that I could mutter out was, "Shit."

"You commanded them to come here, didn't you?" The rabbit asked me as he made his large axe appear in his grip.

I had no time to answer, or to think of a response actually, because the Guardians (until now I had not noticed there was three) wasted no spare time in attempting to annihilate us. I tumbled over myself while trying to escape from its speedy claws, swiftly looking around my surroundings to find a suitable weapon. I saw the best thing available: a chair. I had no idea how I was going to pull it off, but it was my best bet. I yelled over to Ero, "Go for the heart or the head, mate!"

I didn't hear if he even answered me, because the shriek of the Guardian coming towards me. I flinched at the high pitched noise. It reminded me of the Machine. I was withdrawn back into the situation when the creature grazed my face with his claws. I grabbed the leg of the wooden chair and flung at him, hitting it in the side. The Guardian hit the wall, but quickly recovered itself. I snapped a leg off the seat and used the sharp part of it to my advantage. I stabbed it into its chest, making it scream out its crazy song once more. I let go of the leg and covered my ears. Just hearing it once was driving me insane all over again.

The Guardian drove its claw into the left side of my face, easily hitting the tip of its nails on my cheekbone. I did my best to stay on my feet, though I was unbalanced. I fell over and as my legs landed, the Guardian clawed my right one also to the bone. I glanced up at the beast, which lifted its claw up into the air so that with one swipe finish the job when its head went flying off. Amazingly, Ero had saved me.

"Ero, you do like me!" I squealed, happy with this fact.

The rabbit gave me a look. "Fuck no. I can't let you go die when I still have to prove you work for Shikyo – oh, and you wouldn't have died, but instead faked your death so that we think you were ---- SHIT!" One of the two Guardians left smacked Ero right in the back of the head, making the rabbit fall on top of me. "Ah, my head," he growled, rubbing it.

I pushed him off of me and we both rolled out of the way of the Guardian's deadly claw. I retrieved the snapped off leg I was earlier fighting with and tripped the beast coming towards me with it. I balanced myself on my feet and drove the sharp wood into the evil thing's neck. It did the shrieking cry, and I did my best to ignore it, though I noticed myself twitching.

The head of the last attacking Guardian soon fell along with its body. I took a moment to calm myself down, and to let go of the leg of the chair which I still had driven in one of the beast's neck. Finally, I said, "Check the numbers."

"Excuse me?" Ero asked, confused about my demand.

"Check the numbers on the left shoulder."

He gave me an odd look, but nodded. "Fine." He got on his knees next to one of the Guardians' bodies and read off, "Number 051." While he made his way over to the other one he killed, I took a glance at the number of the one I killed. _No. 109_. "And Number 078. Why are these numbers so important to you anyway?"

I was going to answer with a smile and a lie, but the rabbit answered for me: "I know! Because you want me to think that you care, but you really don't."

I blinked. What? Suddenly, my right leg gave out on me. I toppled to the ground in embarrassment. "Dumb leg," I muttered. Then I got an idea. I looked up to the rabbit with pleading eyes. "Ero…"

It took him a moment, but then he said, "Oh, hell no. There is no way I'm going to carry you."

"Please, Ero-sama? I'll be good, I promise." I beseeched, giving him puppy eyes that I knew would not work. I might as well try anyway. When he gave me 'are you crazy' look, I sighed. This was going to be a long way back to my room. I attempted to stand up, but fell once more. Shit.

"Just answer me this and I'll take you wherever," he told me, making up his mind after a matter of seconds.

I nodded my head eagerly, happy to compile any information for a lift.

"How can Kage respect you when from what I understand have done nothing for him, yet he totally disregards me as an elder, one who, by the way, took him in when he was young? How is that, Soran?"

I found that an odd question to ask, and a hard one to answer, but I gave him my word so I must respond. "I highly doubt that he respects me more than you… Children have an odd way of regarding other people with a nicer attitude while, as you said, disregards family… or even close friends. It's odd. But trust me, dear friend; he respects you more than you think."

The rabbit growled. "Whatever, ass." He turned around to leave.

I did not notice he was leaving without me until I said my next line or two, "Ero, wait, I want to tell you something." When I had the rabbit's attention, a frown made its way to my face as I told him this with a sorrowful stutter: "When Kage… when Kage was with Shikyo… and she was not particularly nice to him… well, Kage he'd… he'd call out to… you sometimes… to save him…"

A pang of guilt and shame flew over the rabbit's eyes as he screamed, "Shut up, what do you know about that anyway! Why did you have to tell me that, bastard!"

Before I could answer, the rabbit was gone. That was around the time when I realized my ride had left. I sighed, sinking down onto the floor to get comfortable. This was just another long day.

_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why not fight ----?" _

(P.S. to the bunch of random letters person. Sorry, no comment on the Machine functions or uses.)


	51. Chapter 50

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 50

Tails' POV

I shivered. Over the last day the air has become noticeably cooler. It was the middle of July and just an hour ago the heaters were flicked onto full blast. I am guessing that this is one of the many side-effects of the Dreamworld, which was approaching the end of its creation as quickly as the minutes flew by. Even the thick, hooded sweatshirt I had put on was not helping much with the freezing temperature that surrounded me. I glanced up at the clock, which read that it was around noon.

Things were not going well today. Our last quick means of communication had failed on us earlier this morning, making the attitudes of the soldiers, and indirectly the rest of us, go to an all-time low. The only way to have contact with the other countries was oddly by boat, which took almost too long to even bother with. Now, if one country had information, it would take hours, even _days _to deliver the news. This flaw in the World Army could be the difference between winning and losing the War. We had suggested the Shigematsu go, but most countries would need a translator for him. Unfortunately, the only one we had was Kage, who we were not letting go outside anytime soon. Atreyu did not know Portuguese, and anyway, he was busying interpreting Ai's book for me. Now thinking of it, I have not checked on his progress in awhile.

I stood up to start my quest to find my translator when Faron entered the room that only I was occupying before. "How are things going?" I asked him. I already knew what his reply would be, but I still wanted to hear it for myself.

He lit a cigarette as he answered, "Not good. We just sent our fastest boat over to Acorn to see if they have any news, but I have a feeling it is going to be destroyed just like our planes…"

If the Princess was telling the truth about one thing, it was this: unidentified forces of Shikyo's regime have been taking down any plane that has attempted to fly anywhere. Hence why we are using boats. "If it gets destroyed, I guess we'll have to go on a search to find a person that speaks Portuguese," I said him with a sigh. I folded my arms around me attempting to conceal body heat. I absentmindedly wondered how the General was not freezing in his uniform, which was made for a hotter climate than this. Then I noticed he was shaking, though it was slight.

"I still don't get why your stupid Kage can't go," he said, taking a puff of his smoke-stick. "I highly doubt anything will happen to him when he's protected by a dragon. Unless he does something incredibly stupid, which actually, now thinking of it, he would manage to hurt himself."

"We aren't worried about him being hurt," I told him as I gathered my notes and supplies off the table I was working at. "We just are taking certain precautions…" I gave him a look and realised that he was utterly bewildered when it came to the whole Shikyo-Kage relationship. I didn't want to explain the whole thing to him, obviously, but he had to know a little to at least understand our reasoning for not letting Kage aid the Army anymore than he has. "See, Kage…" This was harder to explain than I thought. "Kage and Shikyo have ---."

"I understand," he said quietly and quite to my surprise. It was though that only by my stuttering and body posture he knew everything. We stood in silence for a moment, the air chilling us to the bone. Finally, he said, "You better get going. Your girlfriend is awaiting your arrival."

I scowled. "She's not my girlfriend," I informed him as I passed him to exit the room. I did not glance over my shoulder to see if he was mocking me or not. I quickened my pace when I heard him chuckle.

"Whatever."

"Tails," the voice of Amy called behind me. I stopped my pace and looked over my shoulder to find that she was bundled up in blankets. The thick cloths looked warm for the most part, but she was still shivering. I bet I was worse though, since I was only in a sweatshirt and jeans. "You're freezing," she told me. She quickly unwrapped one of the many blankets she had around her and threw it over me. "Wrap yourself up in it. It's the only way to stay warm in this castle…"

I covered myself with the blanket as completely as I could. "Thanks."

We began to venture down the hallway. "I heard a couple of the captains say that the actual war against Shikyo is going to start soon," Amy intently notified me. "They are beginning to get the troops in position right at this moment." There was a second in silence. Our cold breath revealed itself into the air, the mist almost as thick as smoke. "It's hard though, with the communication for the most part cut off. I wonder how it's going to work out..." She paused for a moment, but then said, "Do you think that… that Hatsu will send _us _to Shikyo's lair to… you know…?"

"Probably," I answered her truthfully. "Actually, I'm quite happy about it. I would rather be there for the killing of the bitch than locked up in a castle watching havoc and chaoses encase the world in abyss." I paused for a moment, rethinking my statement. I decided to repeat myself in different words, "I mean, if there is a killing of the bitch…"

If this was three months ago, Amy would have been puzzled and asking what I meant by the statement, but now she only nodded. She, as well as I, knew that there was only a slim chance of us defeating Shikyo. Keita and probably many others failed before us. What made our chances better than theirs? To tell the truth, ours were worse. The Dreamworld is around fifty-five percent complete, the Guardians were now created, and Shikyo has a power over millions instead of a few. It would be incredibly stupid if we went forward with this saying that we had a good chance of reviving the world when really we were heading for our ultimate doom. I hate being pessimistic about it, but facts are facts, and truths are truths.

"You know what I was thinking…" She said, a slight smile upon her face as she stared down at her moving feet. "If… _if _we live through this, that we could… maybe we could go… on a…"

"That would be nice," I said, cutting her off from her stuttering.

"BLIMEY, IT IS SO FUCKIN' COLD!" A voice screamed as a bundle of blue and black blankets flung itself into the hallway. Just by the voice and the cussing I could tell that the skinny black kitsune was underneath what was supposed to be a warm haven.

"Hello, Kage," I greeted calmly. With a sarcastic hint, I asked, "Cold?"

The black hole of the blankets, which looked like in a way a hood, faced me as I heard Kage spurt out, "Don't even mess with me today, runt! I'm not in the mood. I absolutely _hate _the cold."

"I'm surprised you live in Acorn then." The country of Acorn usually had four seasons. One of them was unbelievably hot, while the winter was bitter. I would suspect since Kage had no heater in his home that he would be use to the cold. Obviously not. I became an odd bit worried that even under about twice the amount of blankets Amy was wearing that the kitsune was shaking almost violently. "You alright?"

"No, I'm not alright! I'm fucking cold, dammit, didn't you hear me?"

I sighed. "Sorry." I began my journey down the hallway once more, with Amy close behind. I grabbed a part of the top layer of Kage's blanket and began to pull him with us. "Come on, there's bound to be a fireplace about. We can use it for warmth until the heaters defrost and begin to kick in." The heaters were taking so long to provide us with warmth because of this fact. Our air conditioning had been on full blast last night, and when the cold front came flying in it was so chilly that it covered the main heating system with frost and icicles. Unfortunately, I was about to actually get some sleep before this happened.

"There better be," the kitsune growled. "If not, I could always set off the curse in the throne room, though the King would have a sissy fit."

"I think the King is too busy and too cold to care what you do," Amy told him.

Suddenly, there was a warm gust of air that swept pass my face. My heart almost leaped for joy as the pink hedgehog squealed in joy, "The heaters are on! Finally!"

"Alright!" The black kitsune yelped as he let down his blanket hood.

It was odd how we could be thankful for heat, a thing that most of us took for granted only a few months ago.

Soran's POV

My ears perked up when I felt warmness surround me. It was slight, but it was enough to be happy about. Maybe I will not have to have this blanket draped across my shoulders all day after all. I did not like the covering. It made it too hard to move and easier to catch. Perhaps I am just paranoid and should be glad I have it. Anyway, I have something else that it halting my activity: a cane. My right leg has been a bit off for a long time, but after the blow dealt from the Guardian it seemed to collapse on me. The cane helped a lot, for without it I would not be able to walk whatsoever, but I did not like its appearance. It had red stripes running down the sides. I had to change the colour as soon as possible.

I set my untouched tea on the quite random stand in the castle's many hallways and leaned against the wall. I had to think of some sort of plan to get rid of Atreyu. He has overstayed his welcome – if there was a welcome from me, anyway. I would have done it right when I saw him if it was not for the fact that he pointed out a day ago: I would be considered the killer of the "innocent" translator, and look like a murderer. Well, I am a murderer… but I do not look like one, do I? I sighed. So many questions, not enough answers.

The rat had to be disposed of for not only the safety of the ones around me, but also for mine. After my job is done I do not care what happens to me, but until then I could not be figured out. The rat will eventually tell Shikyo of my wrongdoings to her, and I will be killed with haste. If I had not made the promise, I would have let her take my life long ago, but I was one to keep to my word. I assured _their_ freedom, and if too late for their freedom (which is now probably the case), their vengeance, and I would make sure that they would get it.

I had shared the promise with another person, who was now unable to help me fulfill it – Slacks. I chuckled. He hated that name. Actually, I have no idea how he got it, but it was stuck on him from the beginning. The black panther had to be the coldest, yet all at the same time the most dedicated and compassionate person I have ever met, if that makes sense at all. I did not like thinking about him. It was dangerous. The very thought of him could get me killed.

A pain jolted through my leg, reminding me much of a bite in a peculiar sort of way. It was a gnaw, I soon realised, that began the long term pain in my leg that led up to using this cane. Since there was no medicine in Hell, I had to treat the wound on my own, and though I thought I did a good job, it still got infected and would never be the same.

My guard wavered, my barrier flawed, and the memory of the bite sped through my mind.

F L A S H B A C K

_It had been pitch black in my mind before I felt the awful pain of teeth piercing through my flesh and clamping on the bone. Something had happened before that brought me to the semi-conscious state, though not even to this day can I remember the exact events. All I knew was that before I woke up from the pain jolting through my right leg I had been home, and when I did open my eyes I was in a completely different place. A scary, exotic site to say the least – and to be nice about it. I awoke in a place that Master called Babylon, a place we, the prisoners destined to die, called Hell. _

_When the pain from the bite sped across my body, I sat up with such swiftness that it made my head spin. In instinct, I instantly swiped in the direction I thought my assailant would be. My vision was blurry, but clearing up with extreme speed from the sudden adrenaline coursing through my body. My heightened hearing sought out a lethal scream. If it was my attacker or me that let it out I would never know. _

_When my sight recovered itself, I was faced with a grayish-brown primate of a sort. It was holding its eye, shaking its head as blood seeping from the wound being hidden by his fingers and palm. He recovered incredibly quick, however, gazing and grinning at me as though he had never been hurt. I gagged when I saw that my claw had shredded through his eyeball. I became surprised that I could see this whole site. The room was only lit with one light, which gave off barely any luminosity and continuously flickered. Because of this, the rest of the figures, which were eerily surrounding me, were nothing but silhouettes from my point of view. _

_"He's feisty and skinny, but he'll have to do," the ape cooed in an excited, high-pitched ring. Just his voice told me that he, along with the others that were now slowly advancing towards me, had not eaten in weeks. _

_I pushed myself back to the best of my ability, painfully reminded of my leg's condition. I had no chance, even if my leg was in perfect shape. I, someone who had not hurt anyone except for the exceptions of the past few events, could never face-up to a pack of starving salvages. I thought that maybe I should just let them take my life and fill their stomachs, but all at the same time instinct told me to fight back against them. _

_A hand reached out to grab the fur on the top of my head, but I clamped down on it, making blood fill my mouth and flow down my throat. I hated, yet liked the taste all at once. I was reluctant to let go when the hand attempted to pull back, but I forced myself to. Something grabbed me from behind and soon I was being chocked. I struggled to get out, but had no prevail. _

_As my feet left the ground, leaving me with no support but tight hands around my neck, the brute that seemed ready to snap my neck chuckled, "ain't he a beaut?" He let out a full-blast laugh when I bared my teeth and growled at him with all the strength I had left in my body. "Just a snap of the neck and it'll be over – be happy we spared you from living in Hell." _

_I braced myself for the inevitable, not even thinking about the last part of his sentence. I smelt the air and though I had never sensed it before in my life I knew exactly what it was: death. I barely heard Atreyu, who I most definitely did not know at the time, call out, "Slacks, which part of him do you want?" _

_A chilling voice immediately snapped back at him from the shadows, "Do not call me that and _dammit_, put him down!" _

_I instantly plummeted to the ground, landing directly on my right leg. I let out a yelp of pain, but could barely focus on the increasing hurt in my leg because soon I was coughing from lack of oxygen. I amazingly managed to get myself on my hands and knees. I could feel myself shaking. I felt like collapsing and dying. My eyes came upon black feet that stood before me. I was not sure whether I should look up or not. Finally I did, realising that's probably the polite thing to do. After all, I was pretty sure this was the "Slacks" that saved my life. I ------_

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

I forced myself out of the memory. _It_ is supposed to make me forget, why isn't it working – it usually works, why not now? It must have worn off, I usually kept time on it, but I must have been occupied or something…

The hallway slowly began to blur as I stuffed my shaking hand into my pocket in search of the orange container. Relief hit me when I grasped the bottle. I pulled the container out and actually had a bit of trouble with the child-safety lock. I got it open though, and quickly tossed three or four of the pills1 into my tea. They rapidly dissolved. With a sigh, I hastily brought the cup up to my mouth and took a sip. I immediately relaxed.

This tea truly is addicting…

Ero's POV

"Kage! I know you're around here, dumb-ass! You cannot hide forever!" I growled, forcing my hands deep inside my pockets of my trousers. I hated our game of hide-and-seek. We played it almost everyday. Today, though, I was truly worried. Even though the heat came on, he did not dare to take off the blankets. Did he think I was stupid? I knew him better than that.

I remember the days in the winter months that the black kitsune would run out into the snow and bitterness without a coat or anything warm. He never brought home a cold or a complaint. He would make fun of me when I would walk out in a thick coat, scarf, and hat. He always said, and I quote, "You're such a little frost-ass." Not the most creative name, no, but he actually began saying it when he first started cussing. Those were back in the days he was terrible about being sarcastic and horrible at cursing. And do those days seem so far away…

That was back in the days when he was somewhat _innocent_. Yes, I know this is insane to say but in a way he still is. One must look closely to comprehend such a statement. His actions and his words most definitely do not justify it. He kills (though not without reason, but still), he cusses, he drinks, hell, he could even smoke2 for all I know. For the most part he's not nice, either. When it comes to a totally different subject, though, he's very innocent. I mean, it's not like he picked to be the pawn of Shikyo…

To tell the truth, this may be my fault.

If I told anyone else this, they'd slap me and tell me to stop thinking such a "foolish" thing. It's not like _I _knew what was happening, right? Well, that's not completely true. I did know that _something_ was going on. I was too afraid to ask, too mad to care… When he disappeared for those five months, which I now know he spent with Shikyo, I did not make an attempt to look for him because of my own shitty anger. It was a very stupid fight we had, too, now looking back on it. Dammit, I cannot even remember what it was about! Nekosa had to go risk his neck to get him out. And I thought that cat was heartless. Here I am, the one that abandoned him, and I am not dead.

Ever since I knew what really happened, I laid awake at night thinking about it. I lay and ponder every one of my morals. Just maybe if I would have held my temper Kage would still been completely mentally health. The gray cat, before he was brutally torn apart, had told me to stop thinking such nonsense – that it would have happened sometime no matter what. I could not help it though. Kage should hate me, it was my fault that he was sent there.

Maybe he does hate me…

I would not be surprised. Kage is not as dumb as he acts. He's always been an intelligent person, if you get past the stupid and sarcastic barrier he puts up. If he was not clever he might have not even be alive right now. He probably has realised that it was me who held him up on a silver plate to his very fear. The black kitsune most likely loathes me deep inside; he's just not showing it.

I peeked into a random door, continuing my hunt for him. I do my best to make up for my past mistakes, though I'm not sure if they will ever be forgiven. I may be a tad annoying about it, always checking up on him and such, but ever effort counted in my book. They would never add up to a sum that fitted my standards of exoneration, but they still counted, nevertheless.

"Come on, Kage," I snapped, pushing open yet another door, "you can't run away from me! You suck at hide-and-seek and you know that!" Okay, sucking at hide-and-seek was a lie, but if he heard it he would start an argument about it. At least I would see he was alright. No answer. Without even looking in the room, I began to leave.

I heard a shuffle and looked back to find the black kitsune, still rapped up tight in his blankets sitting on the window seal. I cocked an eyebrow. He didn't say a word. Actually, he wasn't even looking at me… Is he ignoring me? He better not be. I stood for a moment, hoping he would at least regard my presence, but when he did not I stated my question, "Are you ignoring me?"

He gave me a look. In a cold, unfriendly voice he said, "Go away, Ero."

"What are you doing that's so important and involves ignoring me and staring at a wall?" I asked, developing a gruff mood. I did my best to remain in an unbothered state about the affair, and I probably would since Kage was here and safe.

"Go _away_," he repeated, almost baring his teeth.

I became concerned. I was about to say something, but the black kitsune hastily beat me to it, "What part of _go away _don't you understand? It's obvious I want to be alone right now. Just leave!" Thinking that his job was done, he turned away from me. He showed no signs of joking or sarcasm.

"Kage, stop being stupid," I told him. I wanted to add on 'you're scaring me', but did not, for then he would probably retaliate.

I lifted my foot to take a stride deeper into the room, but Kage immediately snapped, "Don't step in here, hellion. I know what you did." These words made me take a step back instead of forward. I knew that Kage should abhor me with all life within him, but it still came to me as a shock that he was telling me this now out of the blue. I found myself standing in the doorway gaping at him without even thinking. "Get out," he told me at last with a shout, expressing his position by pointing to the door. I found it odd that despite the anger in his voice, I heard a sort of desperation. I ignored it though as I left the room with haste, slamming the door behind me.

I hastily fled down the hallway. I was so furious at myself that I almost completely fell when I ran straight into the stupid cougar. With an idiotic grin on his face he quickly helped me to full balance as he said to me, "Oppss. Sorry about that. Totally my fault."

"I don't want to talk to you right now," I told him straight out. I didn't want to blow up on him because then he would go to Kage and tell him in a melodramatic voice and attitude that I was mean to him. I already got shit from Kage about leaving the cougar in the middle of the hallway when he hurt his leg.

I began to walk away from him so the above would not happen, but he caught my arm. "You seem mad," he observed, stating the obvious. "Want to talk about it?"

"With you? Fuck no." I cussed at myself deep within my mind. Oh well, he would probably let me go now so that I can be alone. He let go of my arm, but continued staring at me as though I said the exact opposite. What is up with this guy? Is he on drugs or something? I realised that I could just walk away, but didn't. He took a sip of his tea, waiting for me to start ranting. So I did. "You really wanna know? Really? Fine! I'm all right with the fact he hates me, but ----!"

"Who hates you?" He asked, interrupting me.

"Kage. He should hate me, but ----!"

He once again abruptly intervened, "K.G. hates you? I highly doubt it, Ero-du. Something just doesn't sound right about that…"

I ignored him and continued, "Everything about it sounds right about it because I was the one who ----!"

By now though, he was in deep thought and not even listening to me. Okay, if you tell a person to tell you about their problem, you listen to them! He seemed pestered though by my statement, which made curiosity flood away my anger with him. "What's wrong?"

He slowly took a drink as he stared down the hallway from which I came. There was a moment of silence. He then did something odd: he sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" He asked me, almost in a whisper.

I gaped at him a moment, doing my best to understand what he was talking about. I decided to take a whiff of the air though to see if he was just imagining things. "No," I told him after a moment. Quiet reigned again. The cougar continued to look down the hallway, bound and determined to figure out what the smell was. I tried to pick it up once more, but no luck. Maybe he has a more sensitive nose than me… or he's just crazy. Probably the latter. "I don't smell anything," I repeated.

He inhaled the scent for his fifth or six time and unexpectedly his grin was wiped off of his face and replaced by a deep frown, something I never thought I'd see. Without a word, he put down his tea on a table that was against the hallway door, and picked up a sword that I did not see he had. The blade on it was for some reason not shiny like it should be. He began to head the way I came from, and I followed while calling, "Where are you going?"

He did not answer me. As we headed down the corridors an odd scent came to me. It did not smell good, while at the same time it was not bad. It was very unique though. It was a combination of many things, but other than that I could not say much more about it. At least I knew now that the cougar was not insane about the stench, but why was he heading off somewhere with a sword that he probably has no idea how to use. I mean, for life's sake, he has a cane. How does he expect to fight anything with that anyway? I concluded that some Guardians must be about – that had to be it.

Then I noticed we were heading towards the room Kage was in. "What are we doing?" I asked, doing my best to pull of a threatening voice, which I actually did quite well. Still, he did not respond. I snapped my fingers and my axe appeared in my grip. I was either going to kill whatever was in the room with the black kitsune or Soran.

The cougar flung open the door harshly. He said no happy greeting, nor did he look joyful at all. My palms became sweaty as I trailed him. I had no idea whether I should take off his head or not. He blocked my way from seeing what was actually in the room since he was around the same height as me. All I knew was that he wiped his sword across the stone floor, creating such a friction that it lit the sword on fire3. He moved deeper into the room and everything was revealed to me.

Shikyo.

No words were passed. Shikyo, who was cloaked in untainted white, dropped Kage from her grip and he plummeted to the ground. I took a moment to consider the consequences of straight out attacking Shikyo, which ranged from being killed to the guilt I'd feel if I came out of this without the black kitsune, but the cougar did not. He lunged at her with the determination to behead her, and he would of if she had not pulled back at the last second. I noticed that his cane was abandoned on the floor, and though semi-limping, he still had almost perfect balance.

He swiped again with his flamed sword, but yet against she dodged it, moving to try to claw into his back. I took my chance and moved in to attempt to cut any part of her knowing fully well that my blade was not a real threat to her. It never hurts to try though. The hedgehog-kitsune hybrid whipped around towards me and hit me square in the head with the end of a machete that she pulled from her cloak. I stumbled back as the strike to the forehead made me extremely dizzy. I felt liquid oozing down my face. For a moment all I could see was the blazing fury of the fiery sword.

Reality and my eyesight came back to me when a white and black figure flung into me and knocked me back. I quickly caught the figure that hit me, not knowing who it was. Thankfully, I had grabbed onto Soran, not Shikyo, who probably would have stabbed me in the stomach and finished me off then and there. I didn't let go straight away because I had to regain full balance.

I looked up and Shikyo was about to jab her machete in Soran's chest, something both of us did not notice. I pulled him back, but something tripped Shikyo so that no matter what she could not have hit him. The cougar took this chance to attempt to finish off the bitch. His effort failed though because she rolled out of the way, dragging a black ball of fur, whose teeth were clamped to her ankle, along with her. I was hoping that the fire would at least catch on the floor so that it could maybe spread and burn her, but to my dismay the ground was stone.

Shikyo gathered herself off the floor quicker than we expected, kicking Kage to make him release his death grip that limited her movements. She launched herself at Soran, who I had long since let go of, wanting to drive the blade of her machete deep into his head, but he blocked it with his sword. My vision went out again thanks to my severe head injury. I noted that with such a wound my attacks would not be accurate. I tried anyway, and failed miserably. I attempted to slice her, but instead hit the ground to my right, barely grazing her.

The hybrid jumped and did a flip over us, relying on her speed to let her kill both of us before we could even turn around. Soran did block her blade from drilling into my back though by twisting around as quickly as he possibly could. The spin put him into the air and after that I could only hear a crack. At first I had no idea what it was, but then when I replayed his land in my mind I saw it clearly: he landed on his right leg.

A painful yelp leaped out of his mouth and he fell to the ground, the flaming sword following suit. I immediately reached down and took his hand to lift him back onto his feet, but I let go because he brunt me. The heat from the blade must have traveled to the handle and then to his hands. I realised my attempt was futile anyway – there was no way he was going to be able to stand up anytime soon. Shikyo gave us a wide, teeth-filled grin. The only thing to do now was pick up Soran's sword, but I knew I would not be able to withstand its high temperature for long. I did not even know how the cougar could. "I've always wanted to try rabbit and cougar stew," Shikyo told us in a high-pitched, gladdened voice. I gripped my axe. Now thinking about it, there was no way I could even hit her with the sword.

At the last moment, though, Kage jumped between us. He was shaking and most definitely unbalanced. Shikyo halted all movements, the smirk dropping off her face, and there was silence. She seemed to be waiting for the kitsune to lose his courage and move out of the way, but he did not. He said only one sentence, one that I could not understand at all, but it sent Shikyo into a frenzy. "_Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio_."

She violently grabbed him by the collar of his black and gold yukata, which I just now noticed his was wearing. "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN!" She flung his head into the wall, hitting him hard enough against it to hear the impact loud and clear. Kage went limp in her grip. "HOW DARE YOU CURSE ME, HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO YOUR _MASTER_." She slammed him against the stone once more, this time harder.

Soran tried to stand up, but had no prevail. I decided I had to do something, even if it was in vain. So I tried to behead her, but only grazed her neck. She spun around, hell blazing in her eyes. I immediately regretted my choice of action. She dropped Kage, whose head was much in the same state as mine, and clawed into the wound that she had already inflicted on me. I screamed. My vision went white and I felt as though she was digging through my scalp and into my brain.

Her grasp on my injury suddenly gave out. I stumbled back and amazing kept my balance. All I heard was a shriek and then a hoarse gasp. I silently hoped that maybe someone had come and beheaded Shikyo with the flaming sword. My sight came quickly back though and I saw the scene. Soran had somehow managed to get on his feet. I saw smoke steaming from Shikyo's ear, and Shikyo's claw in the cougar's throat. He threw up blood. The hybrid let him plunge to the ground like trash. She looked up to her left ear, which was half sliced off. With a flicker of her white and now blood-red cloak she disappeared.

When I gained the ability to speak, I stumbled my way over to Soran, who was bundled up on the floor in a puddle of blood, "Soran, you all right? Soran!"

He wheezed, grasping onto his throat. He gave me a look full of pain, but a sense of triumph also. "Don't… worry about me," he said quietly and with a very strained voice. "Check on Kage…"

With hesitation, I did what I was told. I grabbed a few blankets and made my way to the black kitsune, who was sitting up with his head between his knees. "Kage," I called, falling down to his height. "Hey, buddy, you alright?" I asked him kindly, giving a glance to Soran, whose heavy breathing could be heard.

"Sorry," the black kitsune told me immediately, "this is all my fault."

I wrapped the blankets around him and cooed, "No, no. Don't be sorry. I forgive you, okay. I know you didn't mean what you said. Shh." I tightened the blankets around his body and his head when I felt how cold his was. "I just need to ask you something. What does that quote mean? The one you said… what is it?"

He did not answer for a moment, almost as though he was thinking. He leaned forward, about to fall from the imbalance his injured head gave him, but I quickly caught him. He gave a look to Soran, but I directed him back to me immediately. "… I don't know," he told me hoarsely. "Ai taught me it along time ago… I don't know what it means."

The door to the room was kicked down, making the dust from the stone floor fly up into the air. "What happened?" I heard the voice of the General ask desperately. I never thought I'd hear him scared… The dust cleared away and there was Faron, Amy, and Tails, weapons out and everything. They lowered them though when they saw the scene.

Finally, I said, "We need a doctor." And I remembered nothing much after that.

1 Dissolving nepenthe. Heard of it? Probably not unless you're an obsessive Edgar Allan Poe fan like I am or have read the Odyssey by Homer (I recommend both). Nepenthe, if you look in your dictionary, is a drug that relatively makes a person forget their sorrows and unwanted memories for several hours at a time. From what I understand of it, it is an addictive drug, but not necessarily one that makes you high, meaning that Soran can and will act almost perfectly normal (or as normal as he can be, anyway) when taking the pills at the "right" time. Why is called dissolving? Well, it dissolved in his tea, didn't it?

2 Spiritualists general smoke pipes, not cigarettes. Since pipes are used more by the high classes (like the Watchers and Grand Elder…) than the common folk (like Kage, Nicole, and Ero), it seems improbable that the black kitsune could do such a thing, but his days with Keita before the fire could have allowed it.

3 I thought that an explanation would be good so that you can better understand exactly how Soran's sword suddenly went into flames. Well, a few chapters ago, he was "shining" his weapon in the dark. What he was actually doing was applying a substance called lard. You've probably heard of it. It is melted and clarified pig fat, if you did not know. Gross, but useful. It is usually used for cooking such food as bacon and pork, but can also be used for a purpose that most people don't know about. Do you know why bacon and pork is cooked in lard? Because it is extremely flammable if put at the right temperature. So, when Soran struck the sword against the stone ground, it created friction, just like every hitting object in the universe does. Since he applied tons of lard to the sword and because he produced a ton of friction, it blew the sword into flames. Cool, huh?

But seriously, who was expecting Soran to be a drug addict? I only gave one hint of it in the last chapter when he's talking about how he needs to stop drinking his "addicting" tea, but that was hidden and probably ignored by most. If I was reading this I would have ignored it. But yeah, he's a drug addict, and it's important later so remember it! Kind of hard to forget, but oh well.

Now for my latest excuse about why the chapter came so late (sarcastic suspense music plays). My answer: I rewrote the chapter four times. You're all probably sitting there asking, "Is she absolutely mad?" Yes, I am. Thanks so very much for asking. Isn't the chapter good and long though? Most chapters (other than the epilogue) will not be this long, so you can be happy. I don't know why this one is that long… Oh well. The next chapter is definitely shorter than this one, so it should take less time to write.

I do have good news though. You know the quote thing of doom? You'll get it all… two or three chapters! Whoo, rejoice! So I'll see you all next chapter.

On the Wrong Side of the Line,

Kelsey

"_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why not fight fire----?" _


	52. Chapter 51

Darkest Before Dawn  
Chapter 51

Tails' POV

"Would you stop yelling?" Kage, being a hypocrite, shouted. He cupped his ears as he informed me of a fact that he has already made clear twenty-five times in the past hour, "I have a fucking headache! How would you like it if I started screaming while you had a fucking headache, because next time I will!"

I sighed, sinking down into the wooden chair I had pulled up next to the black kitsune's bedside. "Kage," I said in aggravation, "I'm whispering."

It had been around three hours since we had found Kage, Ero, and Soran all severely wounded, and things were not going well. The black kitsune was the only one awake, but he remembered nothing about the event other than that Ero and Soran were hurt, and to him even the slightest murmur seemed to be a scream. Thankfully, his injury did not puncture the skull like Ero's did. We have no idea what the rabbit was hit with, but it tore through his skull and into his meninges(1). According to the castle doctor, some of his cerebrospinal fluid(2) has been lost so he may suffer permanent brain damage.

Soran, though, was by far in the worse condition. The femur bone in his right leg had four incomplete factures, all in which would break completely from the slightest movement. Also, a long-term infection was found in his body, caused by a bite scar the doctor said he had to have gotten around two years ago. The disease was now moving into the cracks of his femur, contaminating the living tissue. At the rate it is spreading, he might never be able to walk again. Then, his hands were another situation. They had a harsh contact burn from holding the handle of that flaming sword for a certain period of time. At first it was diagnosed as a second degree burn, but once it was examined to more of an extent it turn to a third degree(3). But, sadly, the leg and hands were his inferior problems. He had an attack to the neck, which left damage on the trachea(4), the larynx(5), and the epiglottis(6). The epiglottis had been almost completely torn off, leaving the trachea and larynx completely unprotected. The larynx was not severely scratched, but had enough of an injury to affect Soran's voice for the rest of his life. The trachea was the most worried about part: it had been torn so critically that the cougar is now on an oxygen life-support to stay alive. The only way to ensure his chances of surviving is with surgery, which might make his condition worse instead of better.

I did not dare tell Kage this information though. Despite his ranting about my "loud" voice, he was in a swell mood. He must have thought he was the worse product of the fight because after knowing that Ero and Soran were hurt and asleep he did not ask any more questions. Might as well let him stay in this mindset as long as possible, and anyway, I do not think he will even comprehend everything right with the huge wound on the right side of his head. I would tell him if he asked the specifics of their condition though. I did not like lying.

The only thing I did know about the actual assault was that Shikyo must have attacked them. Not even the Guardians could put such a toll on them, unless there were many, but then my friends would have injuries everywhere, not in just specific places. This thought was confirmed when Kage woke up – though he had no idea what happened, he still freaked. It took me fifteen minutes to calm him down.

My thought process was interrupted when the black kitsune started searching around the bed and his neck for something. I glanced about the room to see if any of the objects on the shelves and floor would be something he wanted. When I found nothing, I looked back at him. "What are you looking for?"

"My cross necklace," he answered almost silently continuing his search.

I gave it a thought, but then realised I had no idea what he was talking about. "I never recall you having a cross necklace," I told him. "Were you wearing it today?" He was in a mound of blankets all morning, so even if he was wearing it no one could tell. He shrugged and continued to intently look for it as though it was his life-support. Speaking of life-support… "Kage, I have to go check on something. I'll be back. If I see your necklace, I'll bring it back to you, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," he said absentmindedly, not giving even the slightest care.

I turned and left the small room, glancing back one last time to get a glimpse of the window. It was almost dark, and it was only two in the afternoon. Another sign of the approaching dreamworld, I guess. I did not like that the black kitsune was going to be left alone with a head injury, but I knew Shikyo's tactics enough to determine that she would not strike for some time after what happened earlier today. And anyway, Amy would be back to give him some painkiller soon, so once she sees I am not present she'll stay as long as needed.

_Hello, dear Miles_, Shikyo chirped suddenly, oddly sounding very overjoyed despite not accomplishing her entire goal. _How would you rate my handiwork? I personally give it an eight, since the rabbit is going to survive. Oh well, I will just catch him in an even worse scenario next time. But oh, look at the cougar. Why, he can not even breathe on his own. It is quite a pity, though. I was hoping to figure out exactly who he was before I killed him off, but that will not be possible now. Ops, wasn't that on your list to do also? My apologizes._

I gave a low growl, but nothing more.

_Oh, do not be so pessimistic, _she said to me, _for you should instead feel greatly honoured. For you are one of the few that will be able to behold my Dreamworld, a privilege so many would give anything for. I have more supporters than you would ever think. _

'I realise that,' I told her, 'and they are out of their minds.'

_Aren't we all? _

I hated to admit it, but she had a point. I smirked when I came up with a concept of my own to get her irritated, 'You aren't happy. You are actually quite angry with yourself. You came to get something that you dearly wanted, but was disrupted by two meddlers. Sure you might have killed off Soran, but you did not even come close to claiming the real prize -----.'

_Hold thy tongue_, she snapped immediately. _You do not know your place. _

I did not realise that the comment would make her that furious, but happily tucked it away as a victory. 'So I have a place now?' I asked her smugly. 'Oh, of course, everyone has a place in _your _world – oh, wait, your world isn't here yet!'

I bet that she was about to say something, but disappeared without a trace when I was approached by the obviously stressed-out Faron. He did not show it in his posture, or in his eyes, but the aura around him felt of frenzy and confusion. Things were not going has he had planned, and now he is the one left to fix the mistakes – even ours. "Soran is going to die," he told me bluntly, not giving a crap about my emotions, "unless he has surgery in an hour. The doctors are being bastards and saying that he has to have a consent from the closest person to him… Kage is awake, right?"

"Yes," I answered, "but I don't think he is in the right state to make such a decision. We don't even know if Soran wants to ------."

"I don't care if the cougar wants to live or not," he blurted out. "No matter what he still has to tell us the location to Shikyo's lair. After that, he can commit suicide for all I care. I need that fucking location."

"All right, all right. Go back and tell the doctors that Kage gave his word for Soran's surgery. We have no time to explain every detail to him. The earlier we do the procedure, the better chance of his survival. We should have immediately put him in instead of waiting, anyway." There was a moment of silence. I was expecting Faron to just leave, but he did not. It almost was as though he was thinking over something.

Finally, he said, "I found these." He reached deep into his military jacket, which was covered in many shades of the cougar's blood, and pulled out an orange container. My immediate thought was regular medicine, but when he tossed it to me it seemed a lot heavier. I twisted the cap and gave a look inside. "I found them in the cougar's pocket," the General told me. "I don't know what they are, but I don't think it is prescribed. I would talk to your little friend about that, if, of course, he's still _alive_."

I selected one pill and gave it a close look. It almost seemed to dissolve just hitting the atmosphere and my hand. "I think I know what this stuff is… but why would he have any reason to take it?" I gave a glance up to Faron for some sort of explanation, but he was already gone. Figures.

I sighed, giving another look at the pill and dropping it into the bottle where it came from. Great, I am surrounded by a mentally unstable kitsune, a rabbit who might have brain damage, and now a drug addict. I screwed on the cap. Soran did not act even close to high though, so he was most definitely not doing it for pleasure. I noticed there was powder on my fingertip and gave it a lick. I cringed at the taste. And it was not because it tasted good.

I stuffed the container into my pocket and strolled down the hallway. I had to give a certain addict a visit.

* * *

Ero's POV

I woke up in an excruciating daze. My head echoed with pain that seemed unbearable. I grasped my hands over my forehead, trying to suppress the feeling, but pressing upon what seemed to be a bandage did not help, but instead worsened the pain. I suddenly realised I had no particular idea of where I was. I slowly opened my eyes, cringing when a burning sensation came with the action, and found an unpleasant sight. "AHH, WHAT THE FUCK!" Forgetting about my migraine for a few moments, I pushed myself up into a sitting position to get away from the view before me, which was the scariest I have ever seen.

It was Meep with a butcher's knife.

"What the fuck are you trying to do? Kill me?" I screamed.

The killer Chao gave me an innocent look, hiding the knife behind his back. He mumbled, though it was with a tint of sarcasm, "Meep not trying to hurt Ero. Meep trying to cut off Ero's bandage to see how small Ero's brain is. Meep sorry – _not_."

"You're psycho," I told him breathing heavily and recovering from a state of shock. "I have no idea why no one has ringed your neck yet, shit-ball."

Meep snickered, "Meep too cute to kill! Meep never suspected for anything, nope! All people love Meep!"

I growled holding onto my forehead because of the pain. "I _don't _love you. You suck, you stupid little… freak!" A strike of severe pain hit me and I put my head between my knees to get more blood to the brain. "Now go away. I have a headache."

"Nope!" Meep announced. I could feel the vibrations on the bed as he bounced around excitedly. "Meep given job to watch over Ero. Meep complete job! Meep make Amy happy, yep. Meep like Amy!"

That's just what we need – a lovesick Chao wandering around. Poor Amy. I shook my head as I tightly shut my eyes. I felt as though I was going to puke. What in hell happened to me anyway? It took me a moment to recur the event, and I was very surprised when the entire memory popped up in my mind. Shikyo came to take Kage, and Soran pointed out the occurrence, and then… ouch, I had the handle of a machete break through my skull and the bitch's claws grab the rough insides. It feels like she ripped out a portion of my brain. And then something happened to the damn cougar. His leg failed on him, I know that much. Then… Shikyo almost ripped out his throat. And Kage… "Meep," I muttered, "where is Kage and Soran?"

"Kage in bedroom screaming about noise," Meep answered, stopping his hyper act of bouncing around the room to answer my question. His voice fell sullen though when he said his next line, "But Soran Sir… Soran Sir not good. Soran Sir not breathe without modern device, no. Tails said Soran Sir might die, but Meep don't believe that. Soran Sir go through lots of hurt stuff. Soran Sir come out fine."

She must have gotten him worse than I thought. He was still able to talk right after Shikyo left, but his condition must have deteriorated while I was unconscious. Why do I even care about him? Oh yes, he is not working for the enemy and I feel like shit for thinking so before. There was no way that he and Shikyo would go as far as almost killing each other to stay uncover. Okay, Shikyo would, but not Soran. If she was his master, he would never try to swing a flaming sword in her face. I hated to admit it, but I owed him an apology. Dammit.

"Ero stupid for thinking Soran Sir with Shikyo," Meep told me in a matter-of-fact voice. "No way Soran Sir would do that, nope! Soran Sir never work with the Mystery."

I felt as though a hammer was smashed into my forehead when the Chao squealed. I laid back down, burying my head into my pillow. The fluffy square actually ceased the pain a bit. "Quiet, Meep. I'm going back to bed." When he did not stop his rant about my mistrust of Soran, I covered my head with the blankets.

"NOBODY LISTEN TO MEEP!" The Chao screamed, and then everything became quiet. He must have left.

"Thank God," I muttered aloud, "he's gone!" I nuzzled my head into my pillow and did my best to go back to sleep. My head was making this impossible, though. So I gave up. I got up from bed and did my best to stand. "Okay, I'm up," I called to Meep, who might have been in range. When I did not receive an answer, I stumbled out of my room.

* * *

Tails' POV

I opened the door to the castle clinic slowly. I was instantly whammed with yelling from the doctors and nurses. I closed the door and hoped to get a better look.

"He might go into cardiac arrest(7)," one of the nurses said.

The doctor shook his head, "No, the heart monitor is saying he's heartbeat's fine. He's probably just shocked from waking up to find himself on life-support. Get some shock reliever." When one the nurses ran out of the room to get the medicine needed, the doctor continued. "Get him some more oxygen."

I snuck deeper into the room. I immediately realised what was wrong with him, something the doctors could not guess without evidence. He's going through a drug withdrawal. I took the container out of my pocket and walked up to what might be the cougar's deathbed. I held the bottle over him so he could clearly see it. One of the nurses was about to drag me away, but she immediately stopped when I said, "Is this what you want? Hmm?"

The doctor snatched the container away from me and unscrewed it to give the medicine a look. "Nepenthe? Quick, give him this and then some sleeping gas. We'll start the surgery without the consent – he'll die if we don't."

"No, not yet," I snapped. "You cannot give him any of that to him until he answers my question."

"We need to do the surgery."

I ignored him. "Why are you taking these? There has to be some good damn reason because these won't get you high like most of the illegal drugs stupid people take. Why? I don't care that you can't breathe without that life-support – tell me!"

"I need you to leave the room," the doctor told me. "Nepenthe is a terrible drug, but we cannot start rehab unless we actually _save_ him first – now leave!"

"Tell me, Soran, or else I'll drag Kage in here to beat it out of you. What is making you take this drug? It has something to do your experiences with Shikyo, I know it, so spit it out!"

The cougar, whose eyes were just barely open, seemed to be conflicting on whether he should give out any information or not. Then, just as the nurses were starting to pull me away from the bed, he shakily did his best to sit himself up. The doctor tried to push him back down, but Soran motioned him to stop. He grabbed the oxygen mask that was around his mouth and when he stretched it so that his words could be heard he immediately went into a severe coughing fit. For a moment I felt bad for my prying into what should be his personal knowledge, but remembered where I stood in the situation. Any amount of information that can be retrieved must, for our end is coming near.

Soran could only say two words, ones that got the point across, though not fully.

"The Theory."

* * *

The rest of the day – which could actually be considered night since darkness reigned over the land – went by particularly slow. The only truly eventful incident that happened was Soran's surgery, which came through with more success than expected. He would have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life, but he soon will be able to breathe by himself. His hands were still in the same condition, but will be helped with the spiritualists healing that Kage and Nicole are going to put him through over the next two days.

The cougar, though, has not awakened yet, so I have no information about the Theory. I thought of asking Kage about the subject, since he probably knows at least something about it, but I do not think he would tell me without Soran's acquiescence.

I carefully flipped through a book of medicine trying to find the exact uses for the drug nepenthe. The only light I had was the dulling light of the lamp. Electricity was starting to come in limited supply and at the worst time too. Without artificial light we will not be able to work the long hours we have before; the World Army would be put on hold, which was not an option. The Army would be launching its attack on Shikyo in only a few days. If they do not, the Dreamworld will be unstoppable.

"What are you looking up?" A voice asked me. I heard a body flop down into one of the comfortable reading chairs and sigh. I knew it was Ero because of his voice and how he stumbled into the room.

I barely even looked up as I continued my search. "A drug called nepenthe. Have you ever heard of it?" I cursed under my breath when one of the pages started to rip as I turned it. I doubted nepenthe was even in here – this book is ancient! The castle definitely needs to update its library. Of course, if they ever get time to renovate.

"No," he answered. I heard him grab a book of the shelf and crack it open.

When I saw he had another medical dictionary, one that I must have skipped over, I spelt out the word before he had to ask. We searched in silence. After a moment, I threw down my book onto the table. There was no information about nepenthe in here. I saw Ero flinch at the sound of the book hitting the table and I quietly apologized. I forgot that when it came to sound he was almost in the same position as Kage.

"I found it," he suddenly said while running his finger over the page. "Nepenthe: a drug that induces forgetfulness of sorrow and unwanted memories. Nepenthe is a highly addictive drug, but does not affect the body enough to create a 'high' or any notable changes physical unless the drug is not taken at the right 'time'. If it is not taken one will express shaking, shuttering, and nausea. In long term it can produce mini, chronic seizures and possibly heart failure. Tails, what are we looking this up for anyway?"

"… Just curious," I lied. I knew he did not believe me, but he did not ask any questions. I sighed, sinking into my seat. I instantly, as though it was a habit, whipped out my notepad from my sweatshirt pocket and flipped it open to a new page. I began to write with a blue pen. "Today, before the whole fight with Shikyo happened, I discovered a third flaw. And it might be the most important of all."

Ero gave me an odd look. "A third flaw?"

I nodded, "Yes. The first two are about the vast amount of chameleons and the universal use of fire by Shikyo. Those two were more psychological than the third, which is the one that has been in front of us this entire time: Kage."

"Kage? How in hell is Kage a flaw?"

"Think about it. Why is Kage even alive? From all the information we gathered up it makes no sense. When Shikyo was dumped by Keita, she went against him. She went and did something that got Keita mad enough to attempt to kill her by burning down his own house. Kage was thrown into the mix at the beginning somehow, but something happened that made him more desired by Shikyo than Keita was. Because if everything made sense, instead of… raping him she would have just killed him and left his bloody corpse for Keita to find the next morning. Something happened between then and now and it's something that we need to figure out."

"If you are going to ask Kage do it in the morning," Ero told me, "he's asleep right now and he needs every ounce of it he can get."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't even ask him. Kage doesn't know the answer. Only Shikyo does – maybe Keita, but it's not like we can ask him. Shikyo won't tell us either, obviously."

There was a moment of silence until Ero changed the subject on me, but it was perhaps for the better, "Wait, three? Doesn't that metaphor thing talk about the number three in it?" He stood up and walked over next to me. Grabbing the notebook off the armrest, he began to flip through it. "You know, the whole cannon thing – here it is: _I say we should take a cannon, aim it at her door and then, knock three times and when she answers, Shikyo will be no more._"

I sat on my knees so that I could get a better look. "You're right… Knock three times. That sounds like no coincidence." I sat back down normally and groaned in frustration. "Dammit, that little raccoon knew something we don't!"

"I know, ironic isn't it," Ero chuckled, though he did not look too happy, "everyone that has been dying are the ones that could have revealed answers to us."

"That's the reason they're dying," I told him. "The whole thing on this page connects to something Shikyo does not want us to know. It's enough to make her go out of her way and kill people that would have never even heard of her to just make sure we don't know it. What could it be?"

Ero shrugged, walking back over to his seat while dropping my notepad onto the coffee table, "We might never know. Can't we take her down without such information?"

I sighed, leaning out of my chair just enough to be able to read my notepad. "That might be why she's hiding the information – the key to slaying her. We know fire is involved in it, but maybe there is something else we need to do…"

"I don't know," the rabbit admitted. "We're just going to have to keep guessing until we get it right, but perhaps by then it will be too late… I just have to wonder though, how did a little girl come across such information that we, the ones that are experienced with the bitch, do not have a clue about. I'm sure she knew about Kage, but how in hell did she know he was a 'flaw', or whatnot?"

"I have no idea," I replied.

Our thought train was interrupted when Amy walked into the library. "Tails," she said hurrying to us, "Soran's awake. You wanted to know when he woke up, right?" Before I could answer she continued, "I don't know if he can talk yet, but he's definitely awake. So… what do you want to talk to him about anyway? He should be rest----."

"He's been resting for six hours," I impeded while glancing at the clock for the time. I began to quickly gather up my notepad and the medical dictionary that's context had nepenthe in it as I said, "The doctors will let me see him, right?"

"I'm not sure," she answered truthfully, "after the little stunt I heard you pulled."

I slightly shrugged. "Oh, so you know Soran's addicted to nepenthe then?"

Amy gave me a crazed look. "Wait… what? Why didn't I hear about this?"

"You weren't there," I answered serenely while making my way out of the library, "and I didn't tell anyone because Soran might have a good reason for taking it."

Amy and Ero followed me out of the room. "A good reason for taking something that makes you forget things?" Ero asked confused. "How can that be good?"

"I don't know, but we'll see."

* * *

"Hello," Soran greeted happily, "I'm so glad you all came to see me." His voice was hoarse, and probably would be for the rest of his days, but he was clearly understandable. Before I could even speak, he said, "I know what you are here for, Miles, so please do not explain. I'll tell you everything I can, though it may not be enough."

I pulled up a chair and sat down next to his bedside. "Thank you." I glanced over my shoulder to find that Ero and Amy were standing in the doorway wondering whether they should be leaving or not. I motioned them inside. They came to the bed, but did not pull up a seat. I had not told them anything about the conversation I had with Soran beforehand, so they probably thought he was some psycho druggie. Oh well, we'll just have to see. They might be right.

"Oh," the cougar suddenly said, "I have something of Kage's." He pulled out a gold cross necklace from his pocket and gave it to Ero. "He's probably looking for it."

"Thanks," the rabbit muttered almost guiltily.

With a grin, the cougar settled himself into the bed and told us, "Ask away and I shall answer to the best of my ability. It may not all make sense though, unless you know the entire story, which would take hours to tell." He cleared his throat, which induced a mini coughing fit. "So sorry," he apologized between coughs, "still a bit… hard… to breathe…"

"It's all right," I said, "take your time."

Soran took a deep breath and slowly began, "To understand the Theory, I must first tell you the tale that led up to its creation. It will have to be quick, not in detail, because of its length, but here it is: around two years or so ago I lived with my wife and daughter in Mercia. One night I was awoken by my daughter's screaming. It was normal for her to have nightmares, so I did not believe any physical harm was happening to her. But it t'was my night to comfort her, so I did my duty, but found it was no nightmare. And she also had reason to be scared – black chameleons the size of dogs were racing across her room and attacking her. I did my best to defend her, and even to this day I am not sure if I fully did. I was knocked out before I could see the outcome of my daughter's fate…. I have not seen her since."

"That's so sad!" Amy blurted out.

"Amy, quiet," I snapped.

He continued as though not interrupted, "I did figure out what the chameleons were doing at my house though. They were not trying to kill my daughter, but instead take her away. But since I was knocked out, I was much easier to take. So instead of waking up in my house, I found myself in a rather disgusting cell. With me were hundreds that were randomly selected to be subjects of the Machine."

"The Machine?" I asked rather interested.

His eyes darkened as he stared out into space. "It creates the Guardians. It took hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives to 'perfect' the structure of the vile creatures. The test subjects would wait in the cell day in and day out knowing that one day they would be taken away to be the next victim of the Machine. Many went mad; others killed themselves…" He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, but when he continued he kept his eyesight on us. "But a few individuals, including myself, Atreyu, and Kage to an extent, formed a rebellion, even though most of us knew that it was a fruitless ideal. It was lead by Rais Abiram, or as some knew him, Slacks. You might have heard of him from Faron – Slacks – excuse me, I mean Rais - was the general of the Hatsu Army before he disappeared. Faron took over for him.

"But continuing on, during my time in Hell, as we, the prisoners, called it, I was given the opportunity that I could not pass up. The Messengers gave me a job that, if I did not do something incredibly stupid, might let me out of the fate of the Machine."

"The Messengers?" I asked.

Soran laughed. "Ah, yes, the Messengers. They're one of Shikyo's creations, like the Guardians. They are very large, pig-like, and definitely look more threatening than the Guardians. The Messengers are intelligent overall, but incredibly stupid when it comes to fighting techniques. Because of this, they are easy kill. Their job was to take care of the test subjects – from feeding us to taking us to our doom."

"What was your opportunity?"

"Shikyo was gone for awhile," Soran answered, "and she had something important that needed attention. The Messengers were instructed to pick a different person each day to care for Shikyo's possession, but they obviously were too lazy to pick out sane individuals each day to do so. I took the offer eagerly, despite Rais' complaining, and found myself in a position I never thought I would have to be in: I was supervising Kage.

"It was around this time that I created the Theory. It was an odd idea that I had considered for quite some time, but had never brought up to Rais. The Theory is this: If you don't think it, Shikyo doesn't know it."

"If you don't think it, Shikyo doesn't know it," I repeated slowly. "I don't think I exactly understand."

The cougar nodded, "Most don't. See, whenever Shikyo would pay the subjects a visit, she knew things that she could not have known without raking through somebody's mind for it. But if you have no memory for her to find how will she be able to find the information she's looking for?"

Suddenly, everything made sense: the nepenthe, the motive to avoid my questioning, Shikyo's confusion about not knowing who he is – everything. But I realised that telling me about the Theory had a price. Shikyo now knows who Soran is, but looking at the cougar I don't think he cares anymore. I had one question though. "Didn't you have to test this theory?"

"Of course. And I figured out a way to kill two birds with one stone while doing it too. A while after I told Rais the Theory, someone came and gave us a visit – Meep. He was bouncing around yelling and shouting when he got into the cells, showing everyone a horribly-illustrated picture of Kage that he happened to draw. He would have been eaten if I hadn't noticed it was him in the drawing. So with the help of a person named Nekosa on the outside, we decided to set the Theory into action by trying to get Kage out with using its rules."

I was very astounded with the information. I knew that Soran had definite contact with Shikyo, but the fact that he was the one that arranged Kage's escape was interesting to find out. No wonder Kage completely respects him…

"What are the rules?" Ero asked keeping his eyes down at Kage's cross, which he was playing with.

"We called them the Ten Commandments. K.G. is into the whole Christian religion, so we decided to call them something he would remember."

Amy jumped in, asking a question that was off subject, "What happened to Rais?"

The cougar's immediately frowned. He let out a deep sigh and slowly replied to the question, "We succeeded in getting Kage out, obviously. Though we did not want to return to Hell, we had to so that Shikyo would not know who to follow. We returned to the cells and no one seemed to notice we were gone. Shikyo went on a rampage when she found Kage gone. She started a mass murder, killing anyone that stood before her. If someone did not do something, everyone was going to die. So," Soran chuckled, "Rais had to be the hero like always. He took the blame and got himself killed for it. It should have been me that died, but…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told him.

His grin came back. "No apologizes. Nothing you could do right? Nothing anyone could do. It was his decision." He yawned. "Definitely Slacks' choice…"

There was silence. Finally, I stood up and said, "Thank you, Soran. Get some rest, you need it. Tomorrow we need to have a meeting with the World Army about the location of Shikyo's refuge."

He nodded. "Of course. Good night all of you. And if K.G. is awake, give him my good night wishes also." With the end of the conversation, he buried his head deep into his pillow and though I could not tell I had a feeling he feel asleep immediately.

We left the room as quietly as we could. Once Ero had closed the door to the recovery room though, Amy instantly began to babble, "Oh my gosh, that is so sad! I should make him something – like cookies! No, those wouldn't go down his throat too well. Oh, I know! A smoothie. I'll make him a smoothie. But what flavour would he like? I know of cheery, banana, and strawberry, but I'm sure there are others!"

Ero and I completely ignored Amy's rambling. She was in her own little world and we decided to keep her there. The rabbit, who was flipping around the golden cross neck with his finger, looked over to me and began a conversation, "I noticed that there was a quote on your notepad that you had underlined several times… Earlier today, when Shikyo came, Kage said it. She went berserk and smashed his head into the wall a couple times just for saying it. She had no idea what it meant, and either does Kage, but when I asked him where he heard it from he said Shikyo taught it to him."

I thought over it for a moment. "That doesn't sound right," I finally concluded.

"Nope," the rabbit agreed with a shake of his head. "I think it is some type of curse. Maybe when Shikyo taught it to him she was actually just seeing if he knew what it meant. But even that doesn't add up. If it is a curse though, it did not do much. She went crazy, sure, but she already is crazy. Something has to be up with that quote…"

I nodded. Something seemed to be up with everything these days. The foreign quote was an interesting thing though… Kage learned it from Shikyo, yet she does not even know what it means? That does not make sense. _Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio… _What in the world could it mean and why did it make Shikyo so pissed off that she slammed Kage's head into a wall?

_Do not even think about those words_, Shikyo commanded with her voice full of disgust. _They should not ever be repeated in my presence. _

"_Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio_," I pronounced at my best, just to piss her off. When I said the last word I realised my mistake. Even though she was not here physical, she's present mentally. I had no idea what she was going to do to me.

Suddenly, a burning pain covered the back of my head and soon covered my entire body. I stopped walking and grabbed onto my head. My body went cold. The only thing that could run through my mind at that moment was that I was being killed, disposed of just like so many others. I closed my eyes knowing that my vision was already almost gone because of the abrupt migraine. I heard voices but barely. I knew the next moment that I hit the floor, though I felt no pain come from it. Everything went completely black.

V I S I O N

_I slowly opened my eyes to find that I was in Descentmet; only instead of being in ruins it was prosperous._ _There was only one explanation to what could be going on. I was going to witness the fire. _

* * *

(1) The meninges are a series of tough membranes that sit between the skull and the brain. It cushions the brain and protects it from infection. There are three levels the meninges consist of: pia mater, the arachnoid, and dura mater. Ero's hit would not have penetrated the meninges if Shikyo had not clawed into his wound. Fortunately, only the pia mater was damaged, so there is a smaller chance of permanent brain damage. But the meninges did hit the brain with the impact from the handle of Shikyo's weapon, so Ero definitely has a concussion, which will be a factour in whether he comes out knowing everything or not.

(2) Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear fluid that occupies the spaces in the brain and between the skull, meninges (more specifically, between the arachnoid and the pia mater layers), and the brain. It also occupies the ventricular system, made by the choroid plexus, etc. but I won't get into that because it serves no propose with the case above. The total amount of CSF in a normal body is 150 ml, and about 500 ml a day (don't know how those numbers work, but its true). CSF is used to find infections, especially ones with microorganisms, which can infect the brain. Since Ero has lost all the CSF between his skull and the pia mater, and between the pia mater and the arachnoid, the diseases that the wound itself will let in cannot be blocked, unless the line of CSF between the dura mater and the brain can prevent it. If the disease does get to the brain, it can contribute to the outcome of permanent brain damage.

(3) I'm sure you have all heard of third degree burns from somewhere or another, but most do not actually know the extent of one. A third degree burn (a.k.a. a full thickness burn) destroys the epidermal and dermal skin layers. This burn leaves the skin with a leathery feeling and charred appearance. Surprisingly and interestingly, a third degree burn hurts less than the other levels. This is because the injury has destroyed nerve endings, which means that most people who get third degree burns are never able to feel pain in that certain body part again. Usually skin grafting or other replacement options are required for treatment, but since even giving Soran help is a miracle during these hard times, tight bandages and painkillers are the "best option".

(4) The trachea is also known as the windpipe. As most of you know, this lets oxygen go into your lungs, which produces it into carbon dioxide, and then lets you breathe out the CO2. You do not want your trachea damaged, my good mates, or else you'll be in the same situation that Soran is in and that would suck for you.

(5) The larynx is also known as the voice box. The voice box obviously is the thing that lets you talk, and if severely damaged it will stop functioning, meaning that you cannot talk. Instead you'd have to write on paper or use sign language for the rest of your life. Good luck with that.

(6) The epiglottis is the cartilage flap that covers the trachea and the larynx while food and drink go down into the digestive system. If damaged, obviously any substance that gets into your body will get into your respiratory system and you will either drown (because of liquid in the lungs) or choke to death.

(7) A cardiac arrest is a cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the ventricles (the two chambers of the heart that pump out blood to the body and lungs) of the heart to contract effectively during systole (the process of the ventricles). There is a resulting lack of blood is from cell death from oxygen starvation. Cerebral hypoxia, the lack of oxygen supply to the brain, causes victims to immediately lose consciousness and stop breathing, which is a problem for Soran since his trachea is severely damaged. If the cardiac arrest is not treated it can result in death in only a few minutes.

Sorry about all the explanations. I'm in Health class whenever I'm writing this (I have a laptop for my school so I write DBD during class, cough) so just guess I'm a mood for medical lingo.

"_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why not fight fire with –."_


	53. Chapter 52

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 52

Tails' POV

V I S I O N

_It was perfect. Completely perfect. _

_The sun seemed to shine brighter than normal as the songs of the mockingbirds run throughout the air. The city of Descentmet was prosperous and gorgeous, living in its own little world. Children ran down the streets playing as the older spiritualists went along with their daily work. It seemed as though nothing bad could happen on such a flawless day. Sadly, an event that would directly affect the lives of every person in the world would occur later that night._

_It was perfect. Completely perfect._

_The sky was pastel blue with blots of white scattered across it. It was like one of those beautifully taken photographs that sparks inspiration into even the most uncreative mind. From the looks of it, there was no chance of rain._

_It was perfect. Painfully perfect._

_It should have rained blood._

_"Milady, surely you understand my reason for my constant warnings," a voice said behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to find Ai, along with a tall cloaked man, hurrying through the streets. I quickly followed. "I should be executed for such a statement, but I do not trust Lord Keita in your presence or mine when the Lord is present. He has already inflicted enough pain upon your soul, Milady, and ---." _

_Ai slightly smiled with sadness in her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, good Reuel, but you do not need to fret so. Keita should not be at hand during our drop-in, and even if he suddenly does make an appearance, I am only there to gather the last of my belongings. After this we shall return to the adobe we had left long ago and place this fit behind us." _

_Reuel reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Milady, I do hope you are right…"_

_Something did not seem right. Well, actually, a couple of things were not correct. The fire was supposed to take place at one in the morning according to Keita, yet it was the peak of the afternoon. The second problem was not clear to me, but I knew it was present. I decided not to let my mind wander though, for then I might miss something important._

_Reuel and Ai did not speak to each other for the rest of the trip. I trailed them through long forest paths the led to our destination: Keita's mansion. I found it odd that the house was far away from the city and the Watchers tower, but it could be just because he wanted privacy. At least he did not lock himself up in a haven like his companions did. _

_ I stopped when we arrived at the front gate. I had never seen the outside of the tenth Watcher's house before. It was a three or four story home built in an old Victorian style that made the place look even more elegant. It was a pale white that beautifully contrasted off of the green pines that surrounded it. The red roof was more than noticeable and the landscaping was clearly thought out. The steps that lead to the huge oak doors was white marble that sparkled from the light of the sun. It was a pity that soon this house would be burnt to the ground._

_Reuel helped Ai up the rather high steps and they entered the house without a knock. They closed the oak doors on me, but I was able to walk right through. I had entered the atrium(1), which had an extremely wide staircase as the central point of attention. I began to walk up the stairs, where the two I was following headed. It was hard not to notice the extraordinary chandelier made of diamonds and glass shards while walking up the carpeted steps. _

_"Reuel," Ai said, directing her attention to her servant, "would you please get my belongings from my old room. Most should be already in cases or in the chess." _

_"Yes, Milady." The cloaked figure took a left, retreating to another staircase and soon disappearing all together. _

_Ai sighed and just stood for a moment, overlooking the house. She seemed to remember what she was here for though because she suddenly took a right and hurried down the hall. I pursued her until we came to a door, which she had a bit of trouble opening. She was about to enter, but stopped abruptly. "Keita?" _

_I peered over her shoulder to find that Keita, who was dressed in royal-looking cloaks, was sitting at his tea table. He casually sipped his tea as though he was supposed to be here and there was no surprise of the two meeting. "Hello, Ai," he greeted. His voice sounded eerie and almost disturbing. "Fancy meeting you here."_

_"I was just picking up the last of my belongings," she said, her voice hinting a slight level of fear. "I believe that you told me you had a meeting with the Watchers today and would not be home…" _

_He nodded. "Yes, I did, but canceled. I had more important events to attend to, anyway. Please, dear Ai, sit and have tea with me." _

_Ai did not hesitate. She swiftly entered the room and sat down across from her ex-fiancé. She helped herself to the tea Keita had upon the table. The entire time she was doing this, the Watcher stared at her with a mad look in his eyes. I moved into the room and sat down at a seat between the two. Something isn't right…_

_The hybrid looked up to find Keita's piercing gaze upon her. "Keita," she asked with a concerned voice, "is something wrong? Because if someone here as something to be mad about it is me – you are the one who called off the wedding, not I." _

_Keita chuckled as he put down his tea cup. "Oh, Ai, I do have a grudge against your existence. If you're here, it will never work." _

_"Excuse me?" Ai said ignorantly. "I do not have a clue of what you speak of." _

_The Watcher stood and casually walked to the window. He stared out of it for a moment in silence, but then explained, "See, Ai, I have a plan to make everything _perfect. _A plan that will change this world for the better – to an extent that nothing wrong could ever happen. It will make this a perfect world…" _

_Ai giggled. "That is one thing I'm going to miss: you're wild, impossible imagination. The only way you could even attempt to make sure a world is through a dreamworld…" _

_"_Exactly_," he shouted with odd excitement. He turned to face her. "A dreamworld. That is what I am going to create. A perfect dreamworld." His eyes were alit with madness. "And for this plan to work, you cannot be alive. Or, at least, the real you cannot live. My love would betray me if _I _was _me_." _

_The hybrid stood up, almost knocking over the tea table. "You do not love Kage, Keita," she screamed, " you're just obsessed with him! I've told you this over and over again! You cannot base your feelings over a mere obsession! See, it's starting to make you talk of nonsense – what has happened to you? Have you gone absolutely mad?" _

_"Why does everyone say that I am mad?" Keita asked more to himself than to her. "I personally would rather be deemed a genius. My plan is flawless, it cannot be failed." He began to approach Ai with a sickening grin upon his face. I could recognize that grin from anywhere: it was also Shikyo's. "Since you are about to die, I shall tell you my unblemished strategy. It begins in five seconds…" He muttered something under his breath and fire appeared in his hand. He carelessly let it fall to the ground. The wood floor immediately caught on fire._

_Ai tried to run to the door, but she found it locked. _

"_Now, Ai, you truly do not think I would let you escape so easily. See, in this fire, you die and I disappear. Do not fret, dear, you will get a nice funeral. Once that happens I'll be in the clear, no longer having to upkeep my duties of a Watcher. I shall shift shape into you and steal your identity – once I do this, everyone, including dear Kage, will believe I am you and you'll be the villain." _

"_You've gone psycho!" Ai screeched with her attention on the fire that was spreading across the room and the doorknob. "REUEL! REUEL! HELP ME, REUEL!" _

_Keita snickered, "What's wrong, whore, can your dear Reuel not hear you? I know you were cheating on him with me… I saw you two once. I didn't mind though. After all, I have my own secrets – like Kage, for example. Do you really think I would have kept such a low person in society around if I did not at least have some sort of interest in him?" He grabbed her and she screamed. "See, he can't even hear your damn voice. You were always annoying, screaming like you do." _

"Morire nell'acqua, egil il diavolo malvagio_," she immediately cried._

_The Watcher let go of her and looked at his hands. They seemed as though they were about to melt. "What did you do to me! What did you do to me you bitch?" _

_Ai smirked as she gained a bit of confidence. "It's a curse – Kage knows it too. I taught him it just before he left. I didn't tell him what it meant nor will I tell you. He'll use it though – he's smart. There's hope yet. You'll never succeed. You don't even know how to create a stable dreamworld. I might die in here, but my revenge will be carried through someone else." _

"_It doesn't matter how long it takes me to make my dreamworld," Keita said while shaking his hands and laughing. "Everyone will think I am you – even if they get close enough to kill me, they'll use fire, not water. Its flawless, this plan. No one will defeat me – no one." _

_She spit on his shoe(2) and muttered, "We'll see." She whipped around and before Keita could grab her, she ran across the room and jumped through the window. Sadly, flames on the curtains caught onto her long, blue dress and she shriveled up seconds before impact. _

_Keita grinned as he sat back down in his original seat. He sipped his tea. "All attempts will be futile." _

E N D

I shot up with cold sweat pouring down my face. I found myself in a bed and sunlight pouring through the window. I did not pay too much attention to the fact that it was light outside though. I was too shocked to care. I could not believe it. There was no way.

Keita is Shikyo.

(1) Though most people believe that an atrium involves plants and skylight, the word atrium can also represent the entryway of a house. Just didn't want there to be confusion.

(2) Spitting at someone is already a huge offense, even in our society. In spiritualist society, if you spit at someone in higher status than you, you can be put to death.

... Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. There has been so much foreshadowing to this that it should have been completely clear to all of you. Next chapter, when Tails explains all this to his companions, I will put a chapter number with every bit of evidence that comes from his mouth because there is a chapter for every single hint.

Problem is that I will be taking a break off of Darkest Before Dawn for a month. I know, le gasp. I'm quite mad I ended it on this chapter before November too. See, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. The point of it is to write a 50,000 page book in one month. Crazy? Yes. Impossible? No. Impossible for me? Probably. But I'm determined to make it pass the 50,000 word mark by the 30th (my manager, Yoda ((yes, laugh at her nickname)) wants it done on the 28th so it can be revised, but that's not going to happen. Sorry, Yoda)). All I know about my book is it is called Nevaeh and is a fantasy novel. I wanted to do a horror/suspense type thing, but I would have to think too much about it. Now thinking of it, I'm going to have to think about a fantasy one too. Dammit. Oh well.

If anyone is interested in my NaNoWriMo book, I have a plotline on PowerPoint and Microsoft Word (okay, I was lying. I know more about it than just the name and the genre). Also, I will be sending the rough draft (which is my NaNoWriMo version) out to anyone who wants it. Also, if you are interested in participating in NaNoWriMo, you can go to  and apply. You don't need a plotline or anything like I have (my manager made me do that), you just need to have a basic idea and type away. Tell me if your participating (email is on my username thing) because we can share the joys and sorrows of it with each other (everyone I'm surrounded by thinks I'm crazy for doing this, so I need someone to help me see the light of sanity)

Going on, the concept for Keita's house was based off of this house: http/ I hope the owner of this house doesn't hear that I based the house that burns down into a crisp off his. I might get sued. But I do hope to buy his house one day. I absolutely love it! It's an impossible dream though.

"_People who fight fire with fire die in the ashes of their defeat. Why not fight fire with **water**." _


	54. Chapter 53

_This chapter is extremely long, so watch out. _

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 53

Tails' POV

"Ero, we need to talk."

There was a slight hoarse edge to my voice, but I was too stressed to care. I had been hoping to catch the rabbit alone, but had found that Amy, Nicole, and Faron were also in the room. Though my mind wanted me to race in and yell out everything to everyone, I felt somehow obligated to tell him beforehand. Maybe it was because he could assist me in explaining the situation to the others without freaking them out so much (though it still is rather frightful), or so he could have more time to prepare for telling Kage. I did not even want to muse about Keita and Kage, meaning that telling the black kitsune myself was out of the question. I just hope the rabbit will be willing…

"What's wrong?" Amy asked while taking a stand. Everyone in the room seemed suddenly tense, except for Faron, who could really care less. The pink hedgehog had a look of concern across her face, but also a determination that said she was ready to confront anything to find out what was wrong. "You can tell everyone, not just Ero, you know."

She awaited my answer patiently, but all I did was repeat myself and ignored Amy's comment. "We need to talk, Ero – _now_."

The rabbit hesitated, but stood up and pushed in his chair nevertheless. Amy was angry that he did not stand up for the public announcement and gave him a glare, but he did not seem to notice. "I'll be back," he said to her, and before she could response, I pulled him out of the room and slammed the door behind us.

I was going to break the news to him right outside of the door, but decided it was not the best idea. Amy probably had her ear against it, but even more, it was the fact that the World Army soldiers were running across the castle and could eavesdrop on our conversation at any point in time. I did not want them to hear that Shikyo was not the person we thought she – excuse me, I meant _he_ – was. The fact that I had to address her – _he _– as a male was still foreign to me.

I began to head down the hallway and the rabbit followed close behind me. I knew that he was completely dense to what was going on. I think he perhaps was thinking that Soran passed away in his sleep and he was going to have to break it to Kage. To tell the truth, I would rather have had to tell him that than about Keita. I believe that everyone is going to take this badly – especially Kage.

I swung open the door to a random room, which just happened to be a study, and closed the door behind us once the rabbit and I were inside. "What is wrong with you?" He asked irately as he slowly examined me. "You are acting like Death just came knocking on your door."

It was true that I was paranoid, but I did not realise that I was showing it so greatly. I tried to settle myself down, but my attempts were futile. I realised that when I told him I would sound like I had gone completely mad. Perhaps I have. Ero was impatiently waiting for my reply. I felt like I should tell him this in the most professional, understanding way possible, but instead I blurted out, "Keita's our bad guy."

He thought over this for a few moments with consideration, but then a look of bewilderment flew over his face and he asked, "Excuse me? Are we even thinking about the right person? You see, the last time I checked, Keita was a brunt piece of flesh. And did we not already declare that he was dead, or did I miss something?"

"We all missed something," I answered him gravely. "Something that, if we did not find out, would have ensured that we would lose against her – _him_." I smacked myself on the forehead and did not bother to remove my hand from it. "I need to remember that! God, it's annoying."

"Wait," he said slowly as he tried to resolve his confusion. "Are we speaking of Keita working for Shikyo or…" He stopped for a moment as he thought about his latter idea. I awaited his reply patiently. "Forget I was even going to say a second ago," he told me quickly, "because it is sick and impossible, so I am not even going to say it."

I sighed, "The latter that you are thinking of is what I mean. And it is not as impossible as you may suspect, though yes, it is rather repulsive."

He still did not quite comprehend, which was understandable. It took me over an hour while in bed to realise how awkward and confusing the concept really was, but while I was thinking over it, I had also seen that there was so much foreshadowing to this that should have been quite noticeable. "So," he said though he was mostly stilling mustering, "you are saying that Shikyo is really Keita, who cross-dressed to look like his ex-fiancé to fool us into believing it was her making this dreamworld?" There was a moment of silence. I would answer his question, but the expression on my face told him that I was serious about this. "I thought you were just fucking with me," he said.

"Why would I _fuck_ around about this?" I asked him. I received a simple shrug. I allowed him to muse over the new information more. "She – God, _he_! – has been lying to us the entire time."

Ero walked a few steps towards the door, but then quickly came back and told me plainly, "I do not believe you." He turned away and this time made it to the door. He twisted the knob open as he said, "I may have not known the guy, but he would not do that to Kage."

"He shape shifted," I told him despite the fact that he was probably not listening to my words. "The Watchers told us that 'Shikyo' knew how to shape shift (Chapter 20), remember. Keita made himself into the image of Ai so that he could hide the fact that his weakness was water (Chapter 38) – making him particularly invincible."

The rabbit shut the door quietly enough just so we would not gain unwanted attention. I was surprised that he was even listening to me. He did not say a word, so I decided to continue on with what I was saying. "The chameleon flaw makes sense now also (Chapter 38). Keita has been living for the past thousand years. He could have collected the souls during wars or plagues – no one would have noticed because it was over such a long span of time."

"So he has been planning this for the past thousand years?" Ero asked with a hint of anger and disbelieve in his voice. "Has he been planning to dress up as his ex, take Kage, and take his innocence away from him for the past _thousand _years?"

"Probably not," I answered calmly though I did cringe at the thought of the black kitsune and his past. "But he was planning something. Maybe before Ai and Kage came along, Keita wanted to take control over the Watchers and rule the spiritualists with an iron fist. He was the 10th Watcher and the youngest (I'm pretty sure this was said in Chapter 19, but not sure), so he probably did not receive a lot of respect from his colleagues. It was a slow process, but nevertheless, the sudden attack would probably bring down the Watchers in one blow.

"Speaking of the Watchers, remember how in Descentmet he was able to kill them off so easily (I guess this would be Chapter 22 when they were reported dead)? If Ai was the one truly executing this, she would have not known what elements killed each Watcher. This is information for them and them alone." I continued on with my explanation strongly. "We even received a _warning_, Ero, a damn warning. Kujiro, the Watcher that we talked to in the hospital, said Keita was alive (Chapter 22). He did not mean as a brunt thing we saw, he meant he was Shikyo."

"Why didn't just say, 'Oh, yeah, by the way, Shikyo isn't really who you think she is. She is really Keita dressing up as Ai – you might wanna watch out'?"

I answered him with another question. "Why would someone pull his own plug and why in hell would a Watcher die from that? It could only have been Keita."

The rabbit was at a loss. I understood that he did not want to think that someone who his best friend considered to be a brother was really the one trying to kill us (or, keep us as their toy, if you are speaking of Kage), but now he was just being naïve. "Did you notice that she – _he_, dammit - was not burned (Chapter 32)?" I asked him. "If she was really caught in a fire, wouldn't you think that _he _would at least whole some type of physical mutilation from it? I mean, if it was really Ai, she would be covered."

"Actually," he told me, "while we were up against… him… yesterday, Soran nicked 'em in the ear with a flaming sword (Chapter 50). Didn't do a thing to… him, or at least, didn't while we were able to see…" I could tell he hated to admit that I could be right about this. But, hey, I would love it if I was wrong, but I knew I was not.

"It also explains how a boat is the only way to transport information (Chapter 50, somewhat Chapter 38). It's because they cannot touch water."

"Why was Kage able to kill them with fire then?"

I had to think about this, but came up with a decent answer, though I am not sure if it is right. "They don't. It just looks like they are dead. Probably a trick Keita taught them so that we would believe it was Ai. They ten to one recover and rejoin the ranks – we just never realised it. We have been battling against an army that has been indomitable to us this entire time."

"How did you find out about this?"

I found myself reluctant to tell him. Saying to him that I have been having visions of events between Ai, Keita, and Kage would make me sound plain weird. But I figure that he already thinks I am completely fucked in the head, so I went ahead with it. "You know how I would… just randomly faint? It's because Shikyo - well, at least, I thought it was Shikyo; now I think differently – was pulling me into sort of a dreamworld and showing me the times before the fire that supposedly killed both of them…"

Ero found this quite odd, but avoided asking me directly about it. "Do you think that the person that sent that cat with the message is the same one that is giving you these vision things?"

I had never considered that but nodded, "Yes, perhaps."

"That means this person knows everything that we don't. They are obviously trying to help us though, thankfully. I wish that he would just show himself instead of sending you messages and messengers randomly. He's probably on some island in the middle of nowhere laughing at us for being at the middle of this while he sips alcoholic beverages and has hot, kinky sex with girls half his age(1)…"

I gave him an odd expression for his last remark, but took a seat in the study chair and spun around to ignore it. "No," I told him as I shook my head, "he's involved somewhere in Hatsu. There is no way he would come across such information without knowing Kage, Ai, or Keita personally…" I slowed myself down and set my sights back on the rabbit, who flopped himself into a chair. "Heck," I considered, "he could even be in this castle right now."

"The only person I could think of is Soran," he told me, "but he is not even a spiritualist. How would he know how to create a dreamworld?"

"No, it is not him though there is some possibility of him being in connection with the person in question," I said.

"But would he not have told us that when he told us about the Theory and whatnot?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know… some things, though, are better not known."

He nodded and sighed as sunk deep into the leather chair. He buried his head into his hands with a sigh and shook his head in frustration. "But Keita… I still cannot believe that he would betray the entire spiritualist order like that. Every person that I have ever heard mention him always talked highly of him. I mean, he even won the respect of Kage, which is saying something." The rabbit dragged his hands off his face and looked up at the ceiling. "This changes everything."

"Yeah, it does," I agreed quietly. During a long amount of silence, I looked out of the window to find that the sun was already passed its peak (it was only ten in the morning) and the world itself looked eerie and no longer like the one I knew only a month or two ago. To tell the truth, it was slowly starting to turn into Hell. I pushed myself up from the chair and said, "Will you help me tell Amy, Soran, and the Army?"

"Not Kage, not now," he responded as he leaned forward and raked a weary hand through his rather messy hair.

I nodded. "I know…"

He got up from the chair and stumbled a few steps away from it. His head was still messing up his coordination obviously. At least the bandage that covered his head was no longer bloody, unlike yesterday, when we would have to change it every half hour or so. "Let's go. The sooner the better anyway, right?"

"Yep," I said with a small smile. I was surprised that I could even put on one with the pessimistic attitude I have been going through for the past week or so. I believe that I put it up just so everyone around me will think I am in control, when really, to tell the absolute truth, I was not. I could feel my sanity, my morals, my very _life _slipping from me every moment of the day. Though it has taken me some time to note this, I knew I was taking the same path as Kage, except these changes were brought to him swiftly and with a bundle load of stress upon it. He was much further down the road than I.

I felt my smile slipping, so I walked to the door and opened it only to be faced by Amy, who was directly outside. She was on the floor, clearly had been eavesdropping, but the number one thing I noticed was the fact that she stared at me with a look of surprise and distress. I sighed and simply let her name escape my lips. I was not sure if I sounded compassionate or cold – it was perhaps a mixture of both. I realised that she was shaking and was in shock, so I asked, "Are you surprised about this?"

It took her a moment to reply, but she said, "I only heard about Keita… How, Tails? How could he do this to us?"

"I will explain to you soon," I responded gently. "Come with us to tell who needs to know right now, would you?"

She nodded though she was not particularly glad about my proposal. "Of course."

Faron's POV (weird, huh?)

I had never exactly gotten what has been going on. I understand most of the technical stuff like the fact that Shikyo is trying to kill us all and such, there is no doubt about that, but when it came to the idiots I find myself babysitting twenty-four-seven, I always seemed to find myself at a loss. There was a sort of tension, an odd band that pulled them together, but all at the same time, pulled them slowly apart. I had never been quote-on-quote concerned about it, nor do I even care now, but the snips of conversation I have overheard (this all, of course, by accident) had made me curious more than anything. The hushed communications between Miles and the rabbit, the sudden mood-swings of the stupid, black kitsune, the random appearance of the cougar that seemed rather mad in himself, the endless worrying of the pink hedgehog – all have grabbed a bit of my attention at one point or another. I first suspected that they were just trying to make the situation seem more secretive than it was, or that they all really needed to be locked away in a mental asylum, but the deeper it went, the anxiety that befell them that in a way changed the entire atmosphere of the castle (especially Kage's, though I do not know why) had pulled me into wondering.

I hated to admit it, but they did know what they were speaking about. They knew her every tactic, her every motive – they even knew the smallest details that in my investigations I would have never even caught sight of to mused upon. I had already had figured out that one of them had to have known Shikyo before her mental breakdown, and after her attack yesterday, I knew that she was after them for personal reasons. I never got a clean explanation, nor did I ever fall upon information that could get me the account.

And to tell the truth, I really did not care…

Until now.

Well, I cared now only to an extent. Miles was currently standing before my council, his friends, the King, a few of Shiematsu's soldiers (though they did not understand a word he said), and I, gravely explaining a twist to Shikyo's identity that was destroying our original tactic with ever word that slipped from his mouth. Not only did it sound extremely wrong, but it in itself made no sense. His explanations for it seemed unreasonable, but after Kage was able to summon up the Dragon and Keita – Shikyo's true identity, I guess – was able to come this far with his psycho dreamworld, I realised that nothing was out of boundaries with the spiritualists. This, quite frankly, was a scary thought. If one spiritualist could do such things, think if they all banded together to kill off the modern world. Actually, I do not want to even muster upon it.

My advisors and the King stared at the small, orange kitsune with an expression of disbelief. They wanted to argue the point, but had no basis to even begin a dispute. All they could do was listen to the calm, yet uncertain commands Miles gave them about weaponry and tactic changes. I was somewhat happy that water was the answer instead of fire – we had an almost unlimited supply of it in our oceans, lakes, and rivers – or, at least, the ones that had not been polluted by dead corpses and disease. Even the stock of flamethrowers we had produced could be converted to spray large amounts of pressured water. Perhaps this twist was a relief from God instead of something that would ultimately bury us into the depths of Hell (which might actually be the place we are going either way). My colleagues, as Miles revealed more of the changes that needed to be made, seemed to realise this also.

But the kitsune and his friends were not as reassured as us. They were stressed and obviously tenser than ever before (except the cougar, who seemed to be taking this with patience and with no difficulty). This was the moment I had noted that there had been no comment, sarcastic or not, by the idiotic black kitsune. I glanced around the room for him, but he was no where to be found. He could have been forgotten, or he already knew… he was their friend though, so should he not be supporting them through this? Wait, he's a dumb-ass. He probably does not know how to be a friend.

"We must modify our strategies and positions at once," Miles said to us without giving us any form of direct eye-contact. "Keita will be declaring true, all-out war on every nation in a matter of days." He bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for your time."

The Hatsu leaders of the World Army, including myself, and the King stood up and left the room in haste. We obviously had work to do. I stopped myself, though, when I heard that small voice of Miles ask, "Who is telling Kage?" I continued on a few steps but halted once more so that I could hear the answer.

"Do we really have to tell him?" the rabbit asked hopefully.

Miles took in a rough breath and let it out in annoyance. "Ero, we have already been over this. Kage has to know. It is either now or when he actually sees Keita face-to-face trying to kill us and take him. When would you rather him break down about it: then or now?"

"I could slip him the bad tidings," the cougar told them with a voice that did not sound much like his own. "I just cannot speak that well as I could a few days ago. I get winded easily."

"You do now have to do such a thing," the rat informed him rather swiftly. "After all, you should not even be out of bed." He wanted to say something more about his condition or about speaking to Kage at such a time, but a low, stressed snarl from Soran pulled him into absolute silence.

"I do believe you and Soran would be the best to confront him about it," Amy said to the rabbit truthfully. "He does trust you two the most. If Tails or I even attempted to say such a thing, he would not believe us and perhaps cut off communications from us completely."

Soran shook his head and told her, "No he would not stop talking to you. He is more loyal to friends than you first suspect."

Amy wanted to defend her claim because of the unneeded guilt that overflowed her when the cougar said this, but Meep jumped in, "Everyone tell Kage. Kage need everyone… Kage will need lot of comfort and Meep want everyone 'ere to help him and… Meep want Kage happy."

"He won't be happy today," Miles told the annoying Chao honestly. "And probably not for a very long time…" With that, the orange kitsune pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and said, "I will go find him. He is probably outside with the Dragon someplace discussing tactics." He began to move himself towards the door that I was standing outside of. He suddenly seemed weak, fragile, and not the person he had appeared to be for the past three days.

A ping of obligation flew through me. I did not know why I even felt as though I had to do something, but I had a revelation about the entire situation at hand. Miles had once told me that Shikyo – well, Keita, I guess – and Kage had a bad relationship that he did not want to get into because of its length or its complexity. I believe I might know what this relationship might have been just because of the expression on their faces, and I felt as though I had to help in some sort of way with it. Oh, I hate when idiots grow onto me. "I will get him for you," I told him as soon as he caught sight of my presence. He was as surprised as I was about my offer. "I know where he is. Just stay here and calm down a bit."

"All… right," he said slowly and with a rather odd look. "Thank you."

I did not return any sort of polite response, nor did I stay to see the grin that would catch the cougar's face and the weird expression the others must have been giving me. Instead I stuffed my hands into my pockets and hurried down the hallway. I had been lying to them about knowing the black kitsune's location. Miles had a decent guess about where he was though. He had to be with Shiematsu on one of the balconies.

A few soldiers stopped me during my search and asked me what was going on. I mostly pointed them to a different official, but to one group I simply said I did not know which is not an utter lie. Some of the events occurring were as much of a mystery to me as Kage's location. Each time they would ask me, I would ask them about the black kitsune, but I always received a shrug. I probably needed a soldier to keep tabs on him so the next time I am looking for him, he could actually be found with easy.

I found one of the Dragon's soldiers in the hallway. It was not often that they set foot outside of the castle or away from Kage's side(2). I did not know a word of Portuguese, but I still tried to engage in conversation with him. The only word I said was the black kitsune's name and he instantly motioned to the door that he was in fact guarding. I thanked him with a bow of my head and pushed open the door and let myself onto the balcony.

The cold wind immediately impacted me and sent me into a shivering fit. It had to be below zero and it was in the middle of July. The sun, which held an unusual colour, was setting early. I caught sight of Kage, who was bundled up in his cloak and plotting tactics on something I could at first not comprehend. It was a black board about the size of a dining table. Four large, dragon-like legs held it up to the kitsune's height and an enormous dragon head stuck out of it and was looking at its board body interestingly. Instead of board pieces, fire figures of Hatsu's landscape, footsoldiers, and more were scattered across it. It took a moment for me to realise that board was truly Shiemastu. I never knew that the Dragon could transform into things(3). They both did not take any heed of my presence.

"Pensava talvez que podemos pôr as seuas tropas ao redor das fronteiras de Hatsu e nesta cidade. Acredito que força virá do mar," Kage said to him and did an odd movement with his hand to demonstrate his point by making soldiers places themselves around the borders of Hatsu and in the Kingdom.

The Dragon shook his head and said. **_Tenho um sentimento eles não virão da água. Em vez disso nós devemos pôr nossas forças em vários lugares. No reino, embora, definitivamente é necessitado. _**He gently blew a stream of air out of his mouth and the troops around the perimeter of Hatsu moved themselves to different locations. **_Força devia estar vindo principalmente de onde seu lair é. Acredito que a maioria das nossas tropas devem estar posicionadas aí. _**When he said this, most of the troops disappeared and a smoke question mark rose into the air.

Kage sighed and rubbed his head in exhaustion. "Eu não sou bom quando vem a táticas militares." He chuckled and looked up to the Dragon, who blew away the fire on the table. Shiematsu was able to get a grin from the kitsune when he created an image of Shikyo on the table and made her start ball-room dancing with herself and then trip over her tails. "Eu não posso ver seu dançar," he casually told Shiematsu with a laugh.

**_Você nunca sabe_**, the Dragon answered lightly. His dark green eyes flashed over in my direction and he stopped their conversation abruptly though I did not understand what they were saying. He turned into a smaller version of his original form and rapped himself across Kage's shoulders.

The kitsune took notice of my presence. "Oh grande, o general de idiota está aqui," he said to the Dragon in a mocking like tone. Shiemastu, though, could see that I was here on serious matters, not just to chat, and made Kage aware of this. The kitsune looked back at me and asked, "What do you need? We were discussing military tactics."

I smirked. "I am sure that watching Shikyo tripping on her tails is 'military tactics'." I decided to play it casual and wait for his friends to break the bad news to him. I wanted nothing to do with it. "Miles wants you," I told him. "He found out the mystery behind Shikyo."

Kage's face lit up. "Seriously?" He happily hopped down from the ledge and said to the Dragon, "Foi compreendida!" He walked passed me, but asked, "What is it?"

I covered myself by answering, "He wants to tell you himself."

We rushed through the hallways towards the conference room that Miles and the others were in. The black kitsune could not have been in a better mood. He laughed, joy obviously overtaking him. "I do not think I have had such a great day in a long time," he told me. "Soran's okay, we figured out Shikyo – what could go wrong?" He whispered some Portuguese into the Dragon's ear and surfaced a low chuckle from him.

My facial features faltered. I prayed that he did not notice, but I was unlucky. He had been looking at me to ask me a direct question when this happened. His smile slowly dissolved and it was replaced by a light frown. He seemed confused and did not hesitate to voice his concern, "What's wrong?"

It was the first time I ever realised how innocent he really sounded. I thought of preparing him for what was about to come so he would not take it so hard, but I knew this was not possible. If his relationship with Keita was what I thought it was, I had no idea what to say about it. So I simply looked away and answered, "We better hurry. He's expecting you soon…" I knew I did not sound optimistic at all. Perhaps this was my warning to him.

"Okay…" he responded quietly.

His smile never returned that day.

Soran's POV

I could not help but let out a sigh when I heard the door open and saw Kage slip into the room. The general gave him a few reassuring words, but then left the black kitsune alone to face us. Faron had obviously told him something was wrong, for the expression across his face hinted worry and bewilderment. "I heard you found out the secret about Shikyo," he told us slowly. The Dragon that was draped around his shoulders looked about the room with anxiety.

"K.G.," I said with a soft smile. "Come here; sit between Ero and me, would you?" I patted the chair between us to signal that I truly did insist. I could tell that the stares from the others were burning through his skin as he took the seat. I did my best to be as cheery as I could, though I knew that none us were going to come out of this discussion with any form of happiness.

An odd silence flung itself across the room and rebounded itself off of the red walls several times. Ero opened his mouth several times to say something, but always cut himself off before he could. I was truly hoping that he would start the conversation, but I knew that it was up to me to set fire to the discussion. So I casually asked him, "So, Kage, may I ask you a question?"

He paused for a moment but nodded. "Of course."

I placed my words carefully. "Have you ever… read a suspense/mystery book that had you thinking one thing, but then an event completely turned the plot upside-down in a way that you would never suspect?"

"… Yes," he answered slowly. "And what does this have to do with Shikyo?"

My smile increased for only a moment. He always wanted to get straight to the point. I rubbed my neck, which was hurting just by saying those words. I was surprised that I could speak so much yesterday, but today it hurt to even breathe. Maybe it is because I am now not allowed to have any form of medication. I signaled for someone else to pick up for me.

"You see, Kage," Tails said carefully when he gained the courage to even speak to Kage, "our situation is like one of those books…"

The black kitsune suddenly growled. "I am not a child. You can tell me what is going on without metaphors and puzzles!" He glared at Ero, who he was sure had planned them to explain it to him like this.

Tails sighed and quickly covered our mistake. "You see, Kage, you are not going to like or believe what we are going to tell you."

Kage was becoming impatient. "Tell me already. I do not have all day."

"Shikyo isn't who we thought she is," Amy blurted out suddenly. "Shikyo is not Ai like we all have assumed. Shikyo is…. really Keita…" She slouched down in her chair a bit as though Kage was going to pounce and try to kill her.

Silence reigned again.

The black kitsune chuckled as he found amusement in her statement. "What?" He started to crack up. "Wow, you guys, really," he said as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, "I thought you were all serious for a moment." He let out another bark-like laugh. "You had Faron act perfectly and everything! How did he even agree to help you guys with this, huh?"

"Kage," I told him softly as I took his hand and squeezed it, "we aren't kidding."

He fell silent and simply stared at me. We allowed him to think. We wanted to see his reaction to the news. At first he was still slightly in denial about the fact that we were serious, but a deep frown quickly took him over. He dropped his mouth to say something a few times, to ask questions, but shut it and soon I could tell his jaw was locked. He glanced around the room several times hoping that someone would break out laughing and tell him they were just kidding.

Once he did not directly respond, Tails began to gently tell him how we found out such information. I could tell, though, that Kage was not listening. His eyes told that his mind was racing and had no time to stop and listen to the small kitsune's words. I simply held onto his hand and gave what comfort I could. I knew that my attempts right now were futile, but I tried anyway.

"Keita wouldn't do that," he finally said while completely interrupting Tails in the middle of a sentence. His voice was no longer the strong, vicious one that had told us to stop messing with his mind with puzzles. Instead, it held a sickening whimper. "He wouldn't do that to her, to the spiritualists, to the world, to _me_…"

"I'm sorry, Kage," Ero responded. He pulled the shaking, black kitsune into his arms, but was instantly shoved away. Though he seemed shocked by the rough gesture, he did not make a big deal out of it.

Kage abruptly stood up, not even caring that he almost knocked down his chair and inflicted a rather nasty scratch across the palm of my hand. "Excuse me," he said quietly. He rushed out of the room. The Dragon, those obviously worried, was smart enough to jump off his shoulders and remain in the room with the rest of us.

"Well," Tails said sarcastically as he slouched down in his chair. "That went extremely well, did it not?" He clapped. "Great job, people."

The rabbit growled as he stood up and began to head out after Kage. "Shut up, Tails," he told him roughly.

A thought crossed my mind and I grabbed Ero's wrist. "Ero, do not go after him yet," I said to him. "Give him a few minutes alone. He needs it." When he simply glared at me, I gave him some form of comfort. "I promise you. I have dealt with this before."

"Meep sorry for Kage," the Chao said sadly. "Kage like Keita lots. Meep never like Keita doe. Always thought something bad 'bout Keita."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Ero asked him angrily.

Meep sighed and replied, "Ero no listen to Meep. _Ever_."

"Congratulations," Faron said to us as he threw open the door. "You all officially have a very mad, black kitsune on your hands. How do you feel about this?" Though he was smirking and making fun of us, I could tell that he was truly concerned about the manner Kage had left the room and was hoping to know more.

Tails grunted and stood up from his seat. "Shut it, Faron. I am not in the mood today." He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and said to us, "Tell me if you need any help with Kage. I have issues to deal with." With that, he left through the other door and slammed it behind him. Amy quickly followed him out.

"So," Ero asked irritated as he flopped into the seat Kage had been in, "when is the _right_ time to follow him, hmm? It better be very soon because he is going to do something extremely stupid that neither of us can fix and ---."

I nodded as I cut him off short by saying, "I know. It's just a few minutes, Ero. Have some faith." When I heard Atreyu chuckle about my last sentence, I let my smile flip and asked him crudely, "Don't you have translating to do or something?"

He stood up as he thankfully understood that I requested his immediate dismissal. "Of course," he replied smoothly. "I shall do my best to finish up by today so we can have no further delay." With that, he left and I was able to breathe fresh air again instead of his maggot-filled stench.

"Faron," I questioned casually, "did you see which way Kage went?"

"I am not his babysitter," he snapped back. He flicked out a cigarette and lit it with a flame that oddly came from his watch. "You two are on your own." He took a long drag on the white stick and puffed smoke into Ero's face. The rabbit coughed.

"Can I have one?" I asked. I held out my hand to signal that I was serious. He gave me a weird look and was about to remind me that I had throat surgery only yesterday (and it is only because of spiritualist healing techniques that I am even up and breathing and such), but decided that he did not care and handed me one willingly. The Dragon, who had just perched itself on my shoulder, lit it for me. "Thank you," I said to both of them. I took a drag and coughed up the smoke.

"That cannot be good for you," the rabbit told me.

I grabbed my cane and awkwardly stood up. "I am completely aware of that," I replied with a chuckle. When I stepped backwards, I almost fell. Thankfully, the cane supported me. "Shall we be going, Ero? We have a kitsune to find."

"Someone who we would have already been talking to if we would have _followed _him when he left," the rabbit replied angrily. Despite his complaints, he still took a stand and helped me around the chair. I was surprised that he was patient with the fact that I was still getting use to relying entirely on a cane to walk and did not yell at me when I was moving slowly out of the room and into the hallway, leaving Faron behind. "Now, where do we find him? I am sure you already know this answer if you _waited_ on him." Perhaps I was wrong. He was not patient at all.

A smile, though I believe it looked more like a smirk, spread across my face when I answered nonchalantly, "Water. Where do you think we could find the most water in this castle?"

He must have thought this was an odd response, but he did soon realise my reason behind my theory. He thought for a moment and then replied, "A bathroom. There's a sink, shower… you really think he locked himself up in a bathroom?"

"If I were him, I would have done it," I told him truthfully. "Some say to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, but I highly doubt Kage wants Keita anywhere close to him at the moment. Of course, this is if he is thinking _rationally_ – and I do hope he is because, if not, we might encounter difficulties." When Ero did not reply, I asked him, "How many bathrooms are here, do you know?"

The rabbit rolled his eyes and answered, "I have been here for a week, and I haven't even been in _half _of the castle. This thing could have hundreds of bathrooms for all I know."

I stopped not only to give my aching body a rest, but also to think. From every bathroom I had seen, except for the ones in the guest rooms, it would have been noticeable if someone locked themselves in there and started up the shower and the sink all at once. And, from taking a look around the place, I knew that some of the soldiers, no matter how busy, would have taken notice. Kage easily could have slipped into one of the many guest rooms, but most of the rooms were in occupation (even if the individual is not there at the moment), and Kage's was on the other side of the castle – too far for someone who wanted protection from a demon. Where else in the castle could have a significant amount of water? An idea struck me, and it was worthy enough to try out. "Ero," I questioned, "how religious is Kage?"

"Religious?" the rabbit asked, as though he did not hear the word much. "He likes reading that Bible of his a lot, and believes in 'Jesus', but I do not know how _religious_ that would be."

"Go to his room, see if he is there," I commanded. "If not, bring some bandages and tea to the chapel on the south side of the castle. Ask someone for directions if you have to."

He seemed to know what a chapel was because he asked, "In what way would a chapel have water?"

"Holy water."

"Keir?" I called as I slowly pushed open the stained-glass, chapel doors with my shoulder. My voice echoed through the small, yet beautiful place, but I did not receive any sort of reply. I closed the door behind me and instantly noticed that the bowl of holy water that should have been on the podium in front of me had disappeared. There was no priest here to have taken it, so Kage would be with only one with a reason to do so.

I made my way up to the altar as best as I could while taking the time to look through each individual aisle and underneath every row of pews in hopes of finding Kage somewhere in this place. He was no where to be found. I arrived at the altar and looked upon it in all of its glory. It was craved out of a mass of white, pearly marble and held the image of angels flying from all directions. The angel that was flying out towards me was holding a familiar object in its hands: Kage's golden cross. It was hard to climb up the stairs, but I was able to retrieve the necklace from the angel's grip and stuff it deeply into my pocket.

I turned around and scanned the room once more. There was still no sign of his physical presence anywhere. I noticed that to my right was a door that was open though it was just ever so slightly. Thankfully, I did not have to go back down the stairs of the altar to reach it. I pushed the door open and took a look inside. It had to have been pitch black inside before the light from the outside flooded into the small corridor. I chuckled when I realised exactly what I had found. A confession room. A wooden chair stood alone by a wall, which held a door and a window without glass. I stepped inside and looked into the corners in hopes of finding Kage. Nothing. I approached the window, but before I even had the chance to call out his name, a splash of water flew out from the opening and drenched my clothing. I stood in shock for a moment as the water sunk into my clothes and quickly made its way into my fur and my skin. A few drops fell from my nose and made it twitch. I shook off the water the best I could.

A pair of red eyes peeked through the window and panic filled them when they saw it was only me. "Oh, Soran, I am so sorry," the voice told me swiftly. "I thought you were ---!"

"I know," I said calmly. "I completely understand." I wiped my face with my soaked sleeve, but it obviously did not help much. With the removal of my sleeve from my face, I brought a cheerful smile though I was not particularly happy. "May I come join you? I mean, of course, if you are ready not to pour holy water all over me again."

There was hesitate, and from it, I could already tell his answer. "No," he responded slowly after a moment. "I would rather you not. But… would you stay with me, please… out there."

I nodded, "Yes." I gave one look to the chair, which did not look too inviting (especially since the last time I had sat in a confession chair was over two and a half years ago), so I instead flopped onto the ground and leaned against the wall that separated Kage and I. "Ero and the others are worried about you, you know. You left in quite a rush – we were there to help you through it. That was the whole point of all of us confronting you with the news."

"I know," he responded quietly. "I just… needed some time alone."

I hurried on the discussion. "So what did you use this time, dear Keir? A knife, a rock, or did you use your imagination."

He actually chuckled at this. I took note of his sudden change in his breathing patterns. "I was creative," he answered with honesty. "Much like Slacks was. You remember how imaginative Slacks was? Always thinking of something new?"

"Yes," I replied. "He was." I took a moment to soak this in, but talked again so that I would not lose the black kitsune's attention. "How many?"

"Much better than last time," he told me. "Did Ero tell you about that? Probably not – oh well, it's the past now. That was when I thought Keita was my friend…." His sigh was ragged. "Perhaps this is how it is supposed to be – me, stuck alone in the dark for all eternity. Maybe this is the path God has set for me. Soran, do you think I should hand myself over to him and see if I can make this all right again?"

"Keir," I replied sharply, "I know this betrayal has dug a deeper scar into your heart than any other, but you must not waste your life because of it. We must think rationally in order to survive. You know that going back to him will not stop him from killing us all and creating his Perfect Dreamworld, right?" I took a puff of my cigarette, which, quite truthfully, I had forgotten I had.

He ignored my last comment, but did reply to the one before it, "You never think rationally in times like these…"

I managed to laugh about this. "Oh dear, I am afraid you have caught me. But aren't I acting quite reasonably right now, though?

"Not if you were in my position."

"True, true," I agreed truthfully. "You have stated a good point. But you see, Kage, I know I sound like such a hypocrite when I say this, but if you do not think this through you will make a decision you are going to regret… I have suffered much more from not thinking sensibly. If I had, perhaps I would not be the way I am now..."

"But, Soran, if I am really what _he _wants, then handing myself over to him will show that he does not need to kill every living thing on this planet. I could save everyone, even you."

I shook my head and took a long drag out of my cigarette. I watched the smoke rise into the air and slowly dissolve into nothing. "No, Kage, I am dearly sorry, but you cannot save me." I continued on before he could response. "And you cannot save anyone else if you just give yourself away like you are nothing – you know that! That will only prompt Keita even more to succeed! Now please, come out and I shall give you the help you need. You obviously do not want to go to him. I mean, you thought I was him and you threw holy water in my face!"

"Sorry," he apologized again, "about that. But I am sorry, I can't come out. He's coming soon. And anyway, if I move, the cut in my neck might grow larger."

"You cut yourself in the neck?" I wanted to get up and disregard the fact that he did not want me to go in there, but my leg would not allow such sudden movements. I was afraid that he was not lying about Keita coming, for if he did I could not help Kage whatsoever, but thought that it was a fragment of the black kitsune's imagination. Even for him, Keita (in the form of Shikyo or not) would never step foot in a chapel.

"It's not that deep," he replied almost casually other than his odd breath patterns that were more than just slightly noticeable now. "Where is Ero?" he asked while trying to change the subject.

I wanted to snap at him to get back on the topic of our discussion but knew exactly who he retrieved these tactics from: me. I did not want to sound like more of a hypocrite, so I answered his question, "He's probably on his way right now. I made him check if you were in your room or not."

"Oh," he muttered. There was a moment of silence, but he broke it. "Soran, do you believe in God?"

I shook my head though I knew he could not see me. "No. I have seen too much suffering to believe that there is a god who loves us out there. But if there was one, wouldn't he want you to live your life the best you can during the last of earth's days or go to Keita and spend your time with him? You raised an army that could actually give us a _chance_ of making things right again. Do not give it up now."

It took him a while to reply. I was thankful that he was thinking. Even if it was not judiciously, he was still using his brain, which always seemed to prevail somehow for him. "You are such a hypocrite," he finally told me.

"I know," I replied.

"What am I to tell Keita when he does not find me here?" he asked me. I could tell there was fear in his voice.

I thought for a moment but came up with a rather witty response. "Tell him to go fuck himself. I am sure he would have a lot of fun doing it."

"I didn't think you cussed," Kage laughed.

"Special occasions. Now, please, come out, Keir, and accept our help."

I was disappointed at first because I did not receive a reply. But then the door opened and out stumbled Kage, who, quite frankly, was not in the best of shape. He had a rather nasty cut on the side of his neck and blood stained his left arm with considerable amounts. It took a moment, but I stood up without falling over. "Shall we go?" I asked him. "We could have tea and then I don't know, sleep, or something. After all, the next few days are going to be very rough."

His mind seemed to be wandering, but he nodded. "Yes. That sounds nice."

And as I lead him out of the chapel the best I could, I knew that I had only accomplished giving him another couple days. After that, the dream world of Keita's visions would come to life and anyone and everyone the black kitsune knew would no longer be in existence. These couple of days that, if it were me in his position, I would have no given myself. I was a hypocrite, but it was better being one than letting others make the mistakes you would have made.

_1) My brother said something about this just before I wrote that, so I put it in. Please, do not ask how we even got onto that conversation. Our talks always end up being a bit odd._

_2) After Keita (it is so hard to say Keita instead of Shikyo!) attacked Kage in chapter 50, Shiematsu has ordered at least one guard to be at his side. I think it said somewhere in there that a soldier was standing outside of his room – not sure though._

_3) Kind of important in the next chapter or two._

Yes, I know this chapter sucked arse. And it was really long too. Sorry.

Anyway, I am happy to report that I made it to 50,000 words on November 29 – a day before the due date! If anyone is interested in reading my NaNoWriMo book (called Nevaeh), then tell me so. There are three ways to do this: 1) If you a member of and have your email accessible to other users, just send a review saying that you want Nevaeh. 2) If you do not have an account, then send an anonymous review and enter your email into the place that says email. 3) If you are a person that has an account or does not have an account and DO NOT want their email to be shown to other people, email me personally. My email is on my page. You cannot enter it into the box where the actual review goes! It doesn't appear – believe me, I know.

(Cough) Now, I need to speak of a serious issue. Well, it's not "serious", but it is serious for the story. I need to talk to you about _yaoi_. Yes, I said it. Yaoi. Fear me, fear it. You see, since Shikyo is actually Keita (cringes) that means that everything that has gone on and will go on between Kage and him will be classified as yaoi. Yes, I do give you permission to start screaming your arse off and stop reading the story because of this (and the fact that I did not warn you in my description of it – but that would have given away the mystery!) This might sound really odd, but it will be at least give yaoi-haters some relief – there will be nothing, and I mean _nothing_, close to a sex scene. I will never write a sex scene – I will never come close to writing even a _make-out _scene. I am good at suspense, fantasy, and "horror" – not romance, especially not sexual relationship stuff (gay or not). After this story, you will not see another yaoi thing from me. I am not exactly a fan of it myself. If you are, great. You will not have a problem with the few kisses that are going to appear in later chapters. If you hate yaoi, all I can tell you is a feel your pain (I mean, I have to write it – of course I understand) and you are either going to have to deal with it or not read anymore.

So the next chapter will be up soon. Don't worry, we are further than ¾ of the way through the story. It shall be done soon, I swear! Oh, and if I forgot anything about the foreshadowing that it was Keita. I'll make sure to tell you. But make sure to read the end of Chapter 15 – you'll consider yourself incredibly dumb if you do (especially el knackered one, since he was the one that said that part had no point at all).

Happy to be back,

Kelsey (Shiming-Star)

P.S. Go see Narnia and bow to Aslan, the lion. GO!

P.S.S. For all you wondering the fate of the other Sonic Team members, I have no comment. Sorry!


	55. Chapter 54

_Sorry that this was added again, but I was having some difficulties with my other chapters. _

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 54

Tails' POV

I could not sleep. It was late into the night though the light from the sun had been shut out many hours ago. It was eerily quiet – only the monotone, continuous clicks of the clock filled my dark room. The mattress felt like a stiff board, and my pillow would not allow my head to lie upon it comfortably. I was tangled in the itchy sheets. I tossed and turned; my mind full of lists and thoughts that insisted on building a barricade between me and the pleasures of sleep. I tried every method I could muse up to break down the wall. I counted sheep, heartbeats, and even the clicks of the clock. But I guess the only thing that counts is the fact that I am not able to go to sleep.

My thoughts always seemed to drift to the fire and Keita's insane grin with his words about the dream world. With this, my lists only grew longer. They consisted of how to kill him brutally (and rather cruelly), and also with more foreshadowing of Keita being Shikyo's secret identity. Though he did speak to me for a few minutes and gloated when he said that my suspensions were correct, Keita refused to talk to me when I tried to summon him. I clenched my fists. He had to be the most pathetic living person I have seen. The sooner he died, the better. I was a bit surprised at myself for thinking that, and silently noticed that I have wished a lot of people dead lately. I pushed it out of my mind though. That could be thoughts of another night – if I have another night to think, of course. It was always a possibility that I was only brought into this to make people believe he, as Ai, wanted a person that looked exactly Keita to have an "alibi", and now that he did not need one, I might no longer be wanted. It was a scary thinking that I could now perhaps be on his hit-list along with Ero, Soran, and the others.

After a while, I gave up on sleeping. It was just going to be another restless night.

I could hear noises from the room next to mine – Kage's. I have not seen him since our discussion in the meeting room and did not plan on seeing him soon. It was nothing against him – I was simply afraid that if he looked upon me, he would instantly believe I was Keita and go into a panic attack. From what I have heard from Amy, he was already shaken up and, quite frankly, Soran and Ero were the only ones keeping him from jumping out a window or just giving himself up. She kept reassuring me that Kage understands the difference between Keita and I (he had obviously seen a difference between Shikyo and her, after all), but we looked _exactly _the same. Amy had her divergences. I just hope he does not assume I am avoiding him because I think he is dirty or something…

I sat up and sighed clutching the sheets tightly. I hate insomnia. After deciding that sitting in the dark for the next few hours was not in my best interest, I slipped out of bed and dressed myself rather lazily. It was not until I walked out into the hallway, which had finely dimmed lights, that I noticed that my slippers were entirely different colours. I shrugged it off – no one had time to look down at my feet to see my mistake, so there was no use in changing them. I stuffed my hands into the warmth of my sweatshirt's pockets (despite the heaters running full-blast, it was still cool) and headed down the pathway aimlessly. I gave a short wave to the skeleton soldier that was standing outside of Kage's door, but quickened my pace when I noted that it was glaring at me with daggers that could easily kill. I glanced down at my watch while rounding the corner to find that it was 2:55 A.M.

I pushed open one of the double doors to the ballroom with my entire body, not taking the time to reach out my hand and handle the door properly. I glanced up so that I could see where I was going, but stopped in my tracks. Before me was one of the Guardians. It stood almost lifeless and did not seem to take any sort of heed to my presence. I could hear its hideous, loud breathing echo in the room as it dripped a black ooze from its body onto the white marble floor. Dull, red eyes stared down at the mess it was making with mild interest. It flexed its claws with a kind of anticipation that I could not correctly place. The large tusks that hung from its mouth shimmered from the light that came from the diamond-made chandelier, reminding me of just how sharp they were. It was either just me, or it was almost as though the dangerous creature was purposely placed there by someone.

I carefully, and close to silently, backed myself into the door, which began to push itself back from my weight. Since its attention was obviously elsewhere, I attempted to slide back the way I came unnoticed. My hopes grew high as I was halfway out of the room, but I froze when its eyes fluttered up from the floor onto me. When its breath rose up an entire pitch, I could tell that it recognized me as its target with a rather large amount of excitement. The chameleons looked as though they went off of movement to track down their victims, and I was praying that the Guardians did the same. But the Guardians were Keita's "Perfect Creatures" – they have to be more advanced than her lower (or, possibly, lowest) minions.

My hand, which was already in my large sweatshirt pocket, grabbed the arm of the pistol inside tightly. I had almost decided not to take it along with me. When the creature let out a high-pitched scream, I whipped out the pistol and shot it. I slowly opened my eyes to find that I had completely missed it. The Guardian was not happy about the act of self-defense and launched itself at me swiftly. I wanted to escape through the door (which, quite possibly, the creature could not open), but something pushed me completely inside the ballroom and slammed the door shut. I had no time to open it once more because the Guardian was too close to be ignored.

It cried in aggravation when its claws dug through the wooden door instead of my flesh. Its rebound took a moment, but it was not long enough for me to get to the other side of the room and to the other pair of doors. I glanced over my shoulder to find that the Guardian was making another move to tear me apart. My speed increased, but the only thing the pace helped with was my failure. I skidded across the black ooze and fell backwards. The liquid substance burned. I rolled out of it to stop the smoldering pain, but most of it attached itself to my back. I was able to raise myself onto all fours, but had to jump back down on my stomach to avoid the creature's enormous claws. It tried to stab me with its tusks, but was unsuccessful. Its recoil was faster than expected, and as a consequence it sliced me in the back. Most of the black liquid flew out with globs of my fur, but some leaked into the wound. I tried to stand up and face the Guardian, but I could not bend my back because each time I did the ooze deeper into the cut.

I fell down onto the ground in my own blood (and the ooze) when the creature took another swipe at my head. I spun onto my side and held my gun towards the Guardian shakily. It was intrigued by my blood that was splattered all over the floor. I wanted to shoot and kill it, but had a feeling that I was going to miss.

Suddenly, and quite surprisingly, Soran's Ten Commandments sprung into my mind. _No hesitation_. As though it was instinct, I pulled the trigger.

The bull flew through the air and barreled into the Guardian's forehead.

It gave out its last mournful, siren-like cry and fell to the ground. The black liquid that I had come in contact with earlier was now flowing out of its head and began to slowly drowning its body. Even though the doors to the ballroom flew open, I sat in shock and did not dare to remove my eyes from the Guardian. It was not surprise that I killed it – no, I was very happy about that – but I had discovered a disheartening fact.

"Tails," Amy cried as she rushed to my side, "are you alright?"

To her distraught, I shook my head. "No…" I glanced at her, but then returned my sights back upon the black heap of black ooze, which once was the hideous beast. "I'm on Keita's hit list."

I pushed open the glass doors that led out onto the throne room's patio. Word got to me that the armies were moving out, but I was not sure whether to trust it or not. After all, Kage has not talked to Shiematsu since yesterday, meaning that the dragon had no idea what was happening. I leaned over the railing and below to the city, which was overall in bad condition. Below the World Army soldiers were moving out of the golden gates and out into the dangerous, deadly world. "Where are they going?" I asked myself aloud.

"North," a voice answered, "towards Mount Meteor. We had a conference today with Soran, and he said that Keita's lair lies in the abandoned mine channel there."

I glanced behind me to find the General in a heavy and rather noticeable leather jacket. I had remembered that there was a mine on the mountain, but when I had seen it there were trucks and men coming to and from it. "When I saw that mine," I said, "there were workers and everything. To have a large machine there and hundreds of prisoners had to have taken more than a month or two."

"We looked at the map layout and found that there was a large portion of the mine that has not been used in around a hundred years. It is blocked, but by looking at what spiritualists can do, I do not think a boulder or two could have been any sort of difficulty for Keita."

"Of course… it was large enough, there was enough noise for the Machine's functioning to be covered up easily, and it was close to home." To tell the truth, I felt as though I should have thought of that before. There was no sort of lead other than it being close to Descentmet, so I guess at the same time it was a wild guess. I just could not believe we passed right by Keita's lair though without any kind of intricacy.

Our conversation was cut short by a call for Faron. Douglas rushed over to Faron and me. He was carrying a flamethrower clumsily in his arms. "I figured out a way to modify the flamethrowers already made to release pressurized water instead of fire. It's an easy adjustment. If you will give me a troop of soldiers or so, we can have it done by tonight."

Faron took a quick glance at the flamethrower and replied, "I could do that. Pull out any troop you see fit for this – just make sure it isn't one scheduled to go north."

He attempted to salute him but almost dropped the prototype water shooter. So instead he simply nodded and hurried off to start working on the other flamethrowers that needed to be transformed.

"Why are you going north anyway?" I asked. "I understand that Keita's lair is there, but I am sure you are smart enough not to order them to raid it. Your army will be gone before you even knew it was fully formed."

"We believe that the mountain is where most of his troops will come from once the War begins. We will be able to face him head on. We are sending a great amount of the Dragon's troops out soon. We just cannot communicate with him until Kage gets out of his self-pity fiasco though."

I was going to defend Kage to the best of my ability, but our conversation was cut off by a soldier who flew through the doors and yelled, "Sir, you have to come see this."

We walked inside to find that all the soldiers in the throne room were tense. The King, which was sitting in his seat for the first time in a week, had on a determined, non-faltering face though I knew that he was just as anxiety as his inferiors. I pushed through the crowd so I could see the conflict. Walking inside the room through the doors were Guardians. They seemed to have no plans to attack as they lined the wall that held the two doors. Inside walked a figure which was cloaked in black. He lowered his hood and his read eyes landed upon me.

I growled. "Hello, Shadow."

Kage's POV

(_All Portuguese and French will be translated in his point of view_)

I tapped my pen against the desk furiously. The map of Hatsu that had been laid out before me was so marked up with ink that I could no longer make sense of where Shiematsu and I agreed to move his forces. We had, for the most part, decided the positions yesterday, but after we were disrupted, we never got to finalize it. I raked a hand through my hair. I felt like slamming my head against the table, but that would reopen the wound on my head. It was annoying having a bandage rapped around your forehead anyway. It was the same with the neck. I rubbed the white felt hoping that it was no longer wet with blood. A small smile developed on my face when it was dry.

For the first time in twelve hours, Soran and Ero left me. Soran had to because he was plotting out what he remembered of Keita's lair, and the rabbit was only gone for a few minutes getting me something to eat. I had not been left alone, though. One of the Dragon's guards was standing at the door making sure that I would not do something stupid during Ero's absence. I did not see why they cared.

The door flew open, and for a moment I thought it was Ero, but instead it was one of the black skeletons. It bowed to me. "Milord, we believe one of Shikyo's legions comes to declare war on this country. We will escort you to the throne room at once."

"Declare war?" I asked irritated. "I thought we declared war when they started… you know, killing us and whatnot." I sighed when I did not receive a response from the guard. "Give me a few minutes to get ready. And tell Shiematsu would you? He should make an appearance even if this conversation will be in English."

"Yes, milord." It bowed once more and left the room along with the guard that had been standing in here before.

I grabbed my cloak with a growl. This was going to be a long-ass day.

Tails' POV

"I am, of course, so happy to see you again, Miles," the black hedgehog told me with a mad glint in his red eyes. He was not truly joyous to see me, especially since he does not remember who I am to him, but he rather was content that I was in the room and did not have to be sent for. The nervous, yet excited twitching of his left hand informed me that he was in a hurry and anxious to start whatever he was sent here to do. His mission was obviously not to kill us – if it was, the Guardians would be ripping us apart by now. His eyes landed on Amy, who was standing behind me for protection. His grin turned to a frown and he looked at her with disgust. "Miles," he asked, "do you really think that it is_ appropriate_ for somewhat that is so favored by Lord Keita to be running around with a whore?"

I did not think Shadow's words would affect me, but I felt anger rising within me. The image of ripping off his head built itself in my mind and, to be truthful, I liked it. I did not care that only months ago he was one of my very good friends. The pink hedgehog grabbed tightly onto my hand and moved further into her haven behind me. "What are you here for?" I asked him coldly and with ignorance.

"Why do you think I pay a visit to this place?" He replied with another question.

"Keita related, obviously," I answered in the same tone as before. "He always sends his _lackeys _around to do his dirty work for him. Where is he, Shadow?"

The grin that had developed on his face from his last comment slipped off his face and he looked down upon me as though I was his inferior. "He prepares his armies. I have been sent here to declare war against Hatsu and the World Army. So if you would so kindly have everyone sit down so I can begin. Of course, I would like Master Kage to be here if would allow your slut to go fetch him."

I simply turned away and dragged Amy along side of me. I did not want to be hostile about his commands because of the Guardians, but I also would not let myself willingly obey them. The members of the World Army hesitatingly took their seats upon the steps that led up to the King's throne. I spotted Ero, who must have wandered into the room out of curiosity of what was happening. I led Amy over to him and we took our seats next to him. I mouthed the question of Kage's location, and he shrugged. Oh well, Soran was probably with him.

"The black kitsune, girl," the black hedgehog growled while his eyes seemed to burn right through Amy's flesh. She reluctantly began to stand, but I pulled her back down to my side.

"He's busy," Faron told him as he calmly lit a cigarette. He was the only one that reminded standing, but Shadow apparently did not mind. "And I am pretty sure he would rather not see your ass. Actually, I don't want to see it either. Just say what you are going to say and leave."

As though it was on que, the throne doors bust open and in walked Kage with a lone soldier of the Dragon. I was not expecting him to have such a determined look or possess as much control as he did when he whipped passed the hedgehog (and making sure the end of his cloak hit him in the face) and sat down beside Amy. The soldier followed him closely and stood near him. I glanced over at him to see if he was really alright. A smirk dented his features as he impatiently tapped his fingers against his knee.

Shadow was pleased. With a clearing of the throat, he began. "King of Hatsu, Advisors of the Army, and my master," (with this he glanced at Kage), "I bring word from my Lord Keita in Babylon. On this day, he declares war upon every country in on this planet. He will take no prisoners nor will he accept compromises. None of your citizens will be spared. His armies are being prepared as we speak and by dawn tomorrow the attack will begin. He is hoping that your pitiful soldiers will put up some sort of fight so this war at least a little interesting and will not last for just a mere hour. But we are both regretful to say that wish will probably not be granted."

No one from our side spoke. I do not think it was because we agreed with him about his last state, because many people were angry about his remark, but rather because we had not a word to say that was worth the time to mutter. We all knew that Keita did not want to keep any of the normal citizens of Mobius alive and that he did not want to compromise. The fact that his armies would be ready at dawn, though, had me (and I am sure many others) worried greatly. We had expected a couple days notice, not a twelve-fourteen hour one.

"Oh, do not look so surprised," he laughed as though he read our minds, "dawn is further away than you think. The darkness that will reign over this world tonight will be the longest you have ever seen. And you are already moving your useless troops, aren't you? To Mount Meteor, I presume. His troops are not coming from there – I will give you that much. Actually, he wants this fighting as far away from his lair as he can because he is inviting some _special _guests there just before dawn." He directed his sight towards us (we were sitting just in front of King).

"Joy," Kage said dully. "What are we going to have? A dinner party? I'll make sure to bring my famous casserole. Everyone says it is just _delicious_."

"It will be no such thing, I'm afraid," the hedgehog replied. It seemed like he took Kage's sarcastic question seriously. "I am sure, though, that there will be some sort of feast awaiting you. Does rabbit sound good? Or how about cougar? They are both on the menu. Maybe even hedgehog…" He stepped towards us. "He would love for you all to be there – especially you, Master Kage." Shadow got close enough to him to make us tense up. "He hasn't been able to truly hold you in so long."

He reached out to touch him, but the skeleton soldier that stood close to him morphed itself into a giant, black lion. With a ferocious roar, it slashed at him. Shadow was only able to avoid it because of his fast reflexes. The lion did not try to attack him again because it was satisfied that the hedgehog had moved away. Kage was surprised that this had happened (since, of course, only the Dragon could morph and he had not realised it was really Shiematsu by his side), but gained confidence and rapped his arms around the shape-shifting Dragon's dark mane. "Oh, afraid of my dragon?" He asked him mockingly. "He loves me and will not fail to bring this army of Keita's down."

Shadow growled. "You cannot hide behind your Dragon forever. His armies will only increase the time of this war slightly – nothing more. And none of his servants will be allowed in to Babylon."

"We do not need him there," I told him. "We can take care of Keita ourselves."

"He will be happy to see you all," Shadow said with a smirk. "And he will be joyous to know that the rest of you will be in the field tomorrow. Your deaths shall be hasty and brutal." A rumble from the Dragon grabbed his attention. "Not even a Dragon can stop it."

Soran's POV

I adjusted myself on the hard, wooden bench in an attempt to become comfortable. My fingers lingered just above the white and black piano keys. I paused for a moment, reviewing the notes of the song in my mind. Then, with confidence, I gently pressed on the keys and began to play. Its sound leaped down the black, grand piano's pedestal, slithered across the marble floor, and bounced off the walls with extreme force. The blood that had not yet been cleaned off the ballroom floor slightly moved with the music. A real smile unfolded on my features as I added a complex cord to the combination. I knew that I was supposed to be present in the throne room during Keita's declaration of war, but I was stressed and needed some time to myself. Gospel music always eased my soul, even though I would never dare to go into a church to hear it.

"Isn't it a bit too early for Christmas music?" A voice asked me mockingly.

I was not in the mood to argue, so I answered, "It is cold enough to be." I continued playing despite Atreyu's breath scampering down my neck. I tolerated his presence for the time being, but when he tried to sit down next to me, I kindly asked though there was a threatening tone to my voice, "Atreyu, please do not infest my seat with your maggots - it is rather unhealthy." I smiled up at him but made sure that I was clear enough so that he would take my word seriously.

The rat remind standing, thankfully. His judging eyes burned through my flesh, much like the holy water that had drenched me yesterday afternoon. I ignored it. He had no right to even start accusing me of any misdeeds when he had so many of his own. "You smile as you are innocent," he observed carefully. "But are you really? No, obviously not - you wanted to forget something, but I do not know what it is... Oh, wait, yes I do! You --."

"What are you doing here?" I asked him coldly. I peeled my eyes off of him and returned my sights upon the piano showing that it was important than he was. "Are you not supposed to be snickering in the corner as Shadow delivers Keita's word of war? Or will being there increase the suspicion of you?"

"No," he answered simply. "I believe you are a more important matter... After all, you were the first one other than Kage to touch my master in any sort of manner - weapon or otherwise."

I let my fingers slip from the keys. I glanced up at him with a playful expression. "Are you saying that I am a threat?"

"Yes."

I could not help but chuckle and take in the moment. Me, actually considered a _threat_ to the almighty Keita? I should feel honour instead of laughing about the situation (this thought with sarcasm, of course). Atreyu gritted his teeth. He was annoyed that I was mocking him so. I turned my body more towards the rat and asked him, "Atreyu, may I ask you a serious question? What _are_ you doing here anyway? You obviously have not accomplished anything." Then I added rather coldly, "Unless it was to get onto my last nerve."

"It was to get rid of you, the rabbit, and the pink hedgehog, but now Master wants to deal with all of you himself. Now I am here to find out every weakness I can about each one of you so that each individual can be tortured_ correctly_. The only piece of valuable information I can find for you is Slacks, or perhaps your family, but they are all already dead. What a _shame_."

I growled. I did not like how he threw around Slacks name aimlessly and disrespectful and brought my family into this. "Then why did you allow that Guardian pass through the gates earlier this morning?"

"Master wanted to see if Miles could really use that gun. And the other Guardians that were here were brought in by me on my accordance. I had to record your fighting techniques - but, Soran, yours are a tad bit odd. It more seems like torture than anything..." Then he sarcastically mused, "I wonder where you learned _that_ from."

"Come, I want to show you something," I said to him. I stood up from the black bench and walked around him to the open side of the piano. He hesitated, but followed. "See," I told him, "each note has a different pitch. If they all had the same, the piano would not sound nearly as pretty." I motioned him to look closer at the strings that were tightly attached to the keys. He did not notice, but I kept my eyes on his fingers, which were tightly gripping the side. "Fighting techniques are quite similar." With rapid speed, I withdrew my head from the inside of the instrument and slammed its hood upon his fingers. He screamed and tried to pull them out, but I was able to lift myself up onto the top and sit upon his little limbs before he could. "Oh, dear Atreyu, what is wrong?" I asked mockingly sweet. "You used to be not so stupid - you know that everyone is in the throne room hearing the proposal of war. No one can hear you. That hasn't changed."

"I have told you before, and I will tell you now," he hissed. "If you kill me I will make sure to bring you down."

A wicked grin spread across my face. "But, what if I no longer care about my fate." I pushed down on his knuckles with my cane. They cracked, but the most rewarding part was to hear a whimper escape from the rat's lips. "You see," I informed him, "I have nothing to live for. My family is presumed dead, Slacks was killed, and Kage is most definitely accounted for. Perhaps I could have lived since _you_ were alive, but why would I torture myself with living simply because a traitor is?" I shifted my weight so that I was directly on top of his fingers. "You stand as though you are innocent," I mocked, bringing up the words he told me only a few minutes ago. "But are you really? No, obviously your not - you betrayed not only me, but Slacks and all of the subjects in that place!" I shoved the butt of my cane into his stomach and made him gag on his own breath. He staggered, but was able to stay on his feet.

"I betrayed Slacks? Soran, you have it totally turned around. You --." He stopped in the middle of his sentence to see what I was doing. I carefully, but rather harshly, was tearing off the string from the bottom of my pant leg. I spilt it into four fairly large pieces with my teeth. "What are you doing?" He asked me dully though I could tell there was some fear in his voice.

"There were four Guardians you sent here, right?" I asked him. I waited until he slowly nodded before I stared to tie the string tightly around four of his fingers. "See, my technique... is symbolic torture - if I have time to issue it, of course. If not, I simply used whatever is closest to me." I hit his head with my cane so that he would stare at his fingers. "When the blood circulation is cut off from any sort of limb, it will turn numb. Then, they will turn purple. And finally, after it is done for so long, POP! Say good-day to your fingers, Atreyu, because you will not walk out with them on. (1)"

He freaked and began to jerk away. I laughed at his futile attempts. I returned to work off another string off of my pant leg. I do hope that I do not ruin them completely... but maybe this is worth it. "Willingly betraying someone is a _sin_, you see. What I did was… entirely different." I started to lose myself in the depths of the question of whether what I did was really all that dissimilar or not, but I let that question drift to the back of my head. I had a rat to deal with before I start doubting myself. "And for a sin, I have learned, you must be punished."

I ripped the rather large string off of my pants and examined it to see if it was long enough. "I am not mad about the Guardians," I told him, "because they did not particularly hurt anyone that I care about nor – _nor _am I utterly distressed about the incident in Hell (though this is somewhat for that), but allowing Keita to enter this place…" I rapped the string around his neck. "Atreyu, that crossed the line." I pulled the string tight enough so that it was slowly suffocating him and would not break. I flung the remains behind his neck and held the ends up as though it was a noose. "If I had not been in that hallway, Kage would have been gone. Even if Ero went into that room, he would have never known that your _master_ was there. I am not ready to lose the last person I care for, and though now you seem to understand, I must make myself clear." I pulled up the makeshift noose to he would gag on it.

He tried to communicate with me, but his words came out as hoarse breaths. I looked upon him in satisfaction. I had not been planning to kill him when we first started our _game_, but now it looks as though the tables have turned. There was no way he was going to come out of this room alive… I pressed the bottom of my cane against the middle of his ribcage.

It took me a moment of observation, but I was able to note what he was trying to say. "He is not going to bring you back again, Atreyu," I informed him. "You were not even worth rising from the dead the _first _time. I just have to wonder how a genius – yes, I say genius, despite my deep loathing against him – would have even muster up the idea of bringing such a _traitorous _beast back to the land of the living. You are no use to him and you never will be. He sees that now. If he did not, Guardians would have flooded the room to retrieve you. _Pity_. I guess your master does not give a shit about you after all. Good-day, Atreyu, and thank god for it!"

With that said, I pulled him up far enough so that he was dangling off of the marble ground (even though his fingers almost were ripped off in the process). I plunged my cane into his ribs and watched with a grin as it pushed through his body. His eyes dilated and his breath heightened for only a couple seconds, and then he was nothing but a dead corpse. I pulled my cane out of his body and let him drop carelessly. His body was slowly being covered in blood as he hung by his fingers from the piano. The look on his face was priceless.

I reached over to the other side of the piano and grabbed my tea. I took a sip as I thoughtfully observed him. And, as I stared down at him, maggots slowly began to crawl out of his wounds. "Now, Atreyu, you go to a land much like our own – where _no one _can hear you."

Tails' POV

"You all do know you do not have to go to his lair," Faron told us.

Shadow had left several hours ago. Most of the troops in Hatsu were already gone and, within the walls of the city, the citizens are safe in underground bomb shelters. This was the first time the general has been free, but I was surprised that he even was. He and Kage had not been seen since Shadow left and still a lot had to be done. We found a shock afterwards – Atreyu had been killed. It was not like the usual way Keita went about murdering, but it had to have been him. I felt sorry for the rat that had so graciously helped us, but we did not need the translation to the book now. War was upon us and information about dream worlds would not help us.

I shook my head. "No, we have to go. He is even sending an escort to us an hour before dawn. He wants us there, and we are not going to disappoint him." I looked down at my gun, which I was polishing. "Anyway, I think some revenge is in order."

"You will not be coming back, you know."

"I don't think any of us will, General." I replied. "Tomorrow is the end of the world as we know it."

Amy, who was sitting next to me, said nothing. Even Soran, who did not seem to be bothered by the fact that Keita wanted to "eat" him, did not make a comment. But Ero said, "But it's not over until it's over. There is still some hope though, right?"

"Probably not," Soran answered dully while looking into thin air, "but did we even have hope in the beginning? We do not need hope – we need a miracle."

And, silently, though I kept my composure, I desperately prayed for one.

_(1) Though it seems like a popular myth, if the circulation from a small limb like a finger or a toe is cut off for so long, it can actually fall off. Bigger limbs are harder to do this for. Doctors in the 1800's use to remove fingers and toes like this._

Hello, everyone! I hope you had a merry Christmas and will have a very happy New Year. I am sorry this chapter took a while, but I had surgery on my knee. Vikidin and morphine is not good for the mind I tell you.

Again, I must talk about yaoi (oh no, the hated word). Most seem to be taking it quite nicely (and this, I thank you for dearly), but a few seem a bit worried. I must remind you that this is completely one-sided. Believe me, Kage is not exactly happy that Keita's the one that has been doing this to him. And the reason that Keita likes Kage this way is because of a mental-illness that made him obsessed with him. This, in itself, poses a question: Is Keita really as evil has he first appears, or does the fact that he as an "incurable" (for spiritualists) mental-illness justify his actions? If he did not have OCD, he would have married Ai and they would have lived happily ever after. Kage just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. So, yeah, all yaoi is one-sided. Oh, and this won't be "immature fan-girl" yaoi either. This is an example for "immature fan-girl" yaoi:

Random Guy #1: I hate you.

Random Guy #2: I hate you, too.

Random Guy #1: Wait… you have the same shirt on as me.

Random Guy #2: You're right (moment of silence). Wanna have sex?

Random Guy #1: Even though I absolutely hate you, yes.

(Have sex)

Okay, that was a bit exaggerated, but you get the picture. This isn't going to be anything like that. Keita is a crazed psycho and Kage is a sad, poor victim. (Gives Kage milk and cookies).

Thank you, Dax, for sending that review so I could make fun of it. I've always wanted to do that. But oh, please, do not insult me on things that you have no evidence of. Your Bible comment was the only inappropriate thing in your review. Everything else I completely agree with you on.

Happy Holidays,

Kelsey


	56. Chapter 55

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 55

Tails' POV

When one narrows it down, there are two objectives to life:

The first is to tend to the welfare of others. It could be from simply saying hello to them as you pass by to holding them tight and whispering into their ear that you love them… The world revolves around what each person does for one another. Many wars were caused by insults; many peace treaties achieved through hospitality. I once remember hearing a story that told of a man, who was suicidal, walking the streets of his hometown in search of someone who would smile at him. This one smile would keep him alive. If everyone knew that a simple smile could save a man's life, the world would be a better place, would it not? Or, most would ignore this message, like so many others, and the community would stay the same or become even worse. Maybe one smile cannot save everyone…

The second purpose, though, I find to be much more difficult. It is to tend to your own welfare. One reflects on the actions he or she does to realise who you are, yet one can never realise what they really want until it is far too late to attain it. We find ourselves hiding behind masks – masks that conceal our true identity from the world and make us who we want to be. These masks drag us into situations we never want to be in and make us decide on the undesirable outcome. If I met someone who was truly himself, he would become my hero in an instant.

There was once a writer that said a mirror always tells the truth; that a mirror does not only reflect your image, but also your very soul. Maybe this was the only true way to see one's self.

I sat myself up on the bed and stared into the mirror for the fifth time since I had arrived in my room. It was an old mirror – one of the oval ones used by royalty when they were getting ready for a ball. It was placed straight in front of me in an awkward position. It was as though someone had set it there for this exact purpose. I thought that, in this mirror, I could find myself. Because, in all honesty, I had no idea who _I _was…

I did not know I should gaze upon myself with utter disgust or to be pleased with what was presented before me. To me, I simply looked like a weary, dying kitsune that desperately could use some food, but I felt as though I should be seeing something more. Maybe that is what I am. A weary, hungry, dying kitsune… who was staring in a mirror trying to find his soul just because a writer told him to. No, there had to be something else in there… something I do not know about myself.

I cocked my head a tad to the right to see if this would perhaps change my appearance. No, now I just looked like I had a crooked head.

I had been so deep in thought that I had not noticed that Amy had placed herself at my side. She left me undisturbed for only a few seconds because curiosity filled her thoughts. "What are you looking at?"

I shrugged. And I was not lying – I really did not have a clue. "Nothing," I finally answered her. "I think my mind just drifted off, that's all…"

She grasped onto my hand and squeezed it. Her other hand placed itself on my arm as she put her head on my shoulder. I did not have to look over to see what she was doing. It was all displayed in the mirror. We sat there for several minutes staring at our reflections. I took my mind off of myself (it was getting too frustrating) and focused upon her instead. I had expected a small smile to be on her face, as always, but found none. I knew what she was musing about. In less than six hours, we would be heading off to Keita's lair, where our deaths would deliberately occur. It was a scary thought. I had not suspected to die at the young age of thirteen – and neither did she. We had so much ahead of us, or, we did, before Keita invaded. Now, we only had our friends, our weapons, our hope, and each other. And, though I was afraid of the certain death that was about to come, I believed these things were enough.

"You look older," Amy remarked while taking her eyes off of the mirror and looking up at me. I returned the gaze and was happy to find that her green eyes were still sparkling. She observed me in an attempt to figure out what quality had changed in me. A smile developed, instantly brightening her features. "I think it's your eyes."

I looked back into the mirror to see my eyes for myself. She was right. What once had been a sky blue now was the colour of the dark ocean. How could I have not noticed this before? I guess one is more vigilant of the other instead of one's self… I glanced back down at her and said, "You look older too, you know."

"Me?" She asked with a giggle. She herself looked at the mirror and continued while twirling her hair, "Well, my hair has gotten longer… but that's because I have not been able to cut it in so long."

"I like it that length. I always thought your old cut was a bit childish."

She withdrew her hand from her hair and placed it on my hand, which he was already holding. "Excuse me? Short cuts usually had 'adult' plastered all over them."

I shook my head. "Not yours. It added on to your annoying-ness back then… You were always chasing Sonic when obviously he did not like you in that way. You never gave up, though, which I guess showed determination."

"It was stupid determination," she admitted to my surprise. "But, Miles," she argued while poking my nose, "you were not that much better. Sure you are a bit of a genius, but _everything _you did had something to do with Sonic. Sonic this, Sonic that. I, at least, got around."

"Whoa," I said in bewilderment. "What do you mean by 'got around'?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I meant I did other productive things besides obsess about Sonic." When she saw my look of disbelieve, she sighed. "Alright, fine. He was on my mind most of the time." She did not want me to rub in the fact that I had caught her in a corner, so she looked back to the mirror. To definitely change the subject, she recited, "_Mirror, mirror, on the wall; who is the greatest of the all?_" She laughed when she saw my reaction.

She was about to make a remark, but I added, "_If it is not me, then tell me my deepest flaw_."

"That isn't in the movie," she disputed lightly.

"No," I replied, "but it is from the book(1)." I felt accomplished when the expression of surprise ran across her face. "What? I read books. All sorts of books. What do you think I did in my spare time?"

Amy thought over this for a moment and finally shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we don't know each other as much as we thought we did, do we?" There was a moment of silence. "Actually, now thinking about it, the only long conversations we would ever have was if it involved food and money(2)."

"Do not even bring that up," I told her with a chuckle. "At least I do not fantasize about a certain blue hedgehog who, quite frankly, I would not find attractive whatsoever if I was a girl."

She wanted to rebound off of this and come back with a better insult, but she tried a different tactic. "You don't have to worry about that anymore," she informed me as she rapped her arm around my waist and put her head on my chest, "because I do not like a certain blue hedgehog like that anymore. Too fast for me, you see…"

"Wow," I said in amazement (I truly was astonished, for I thought that I would never see the day she would say this), "I cannot believe you just ---."

The pink hedgehog cut me off with a kiss. It startled me greatly, but I soon found myself comfortable with it. It was not long, nor was it very planned out, but it was a kiss, nevertheless. We pulled away laughing. "That definitely did not work as planned," Amy told me though giggles took away most of her voice.

"That's alright," I replied, "let's just try it again, hm?"

* * *

Soran's POV

"Ah," I said aloud as I took in the smell that now wrapped itself around the large kitchen, "I just love the smell of pie!" I took a look at the sloppy, round pastry that I was awkwardly holding with one bandaged hand. I remember vaguely that when I had a bad day at work, my wife would always make my daughter and me a pie. The one I had made here could not be nearly as good. I was missing ingredients (I hope they were not important) and it seemed like more of a glob than anything. What hers tasted like, though, I could not remember. It was far too long ago…

What had even reminded me of the pie was the fact that I had tried to call my wife earlier. I did not get very far, though, especially since the phone lines were down. I probably could not have done it anyway… she has probably found a new love and has forgotten about me. And I am happy if she has. That means Melody did not have to live without a father figure for that long. This all, of course, if they were even alive. I still feel stupid for not going back to Mercia when I first got out of Hell, but duty called. I had to tell someone with power about the projects down there. And now, I am too wrapped up in this to depart on a search for them. I am one of the number one targets of Keita.

I wish, though, that I had gotten a chance to talk to Melody. She should be six now, I believe. I have almost forgotten the sound of her voice, which is something a father should never lose. Her image is even blurred. All I can remember was that she had her mother's eyes, sparkling with happiness. If I cannot remember her completely, then I guess I do not deserve to speak to her again.

In my dreams at night, if I was lucky enough to escape a nightmare, I would see her standing so far away from me. She would always be laughing, calling my name, telling me to come and play with her. And, no matter how close I got, I never got close enough. She would always disappear before I could grab her hand or lift her up into the air and spin her around. I always felt so heartbroken afterwards though I knew it was a dream, only a dream, always a dream. Why can't the dream destroy reality?

I shook the thought out of my mind. There was no use thinking of it.

The pie! It's going to get cold. I rushed out of the kitchen and looked both ways down the path. The castle was so big and Kage was so small. How could I find him? I thought of finding one of the skeleton warriors (the ones that were in the castle were usually there because of Kage), but they were all heading to the battlefield as we speak. I do not know if we will even see the Dragon himself again.

I had to have been wandering the halls for fifteen minutes when I found him. He was outside on one of the many balconies slouched over the railing. For a moment I could have sworn he was going to flip right over, but his feet were caught in the railing's openings to prevent just that. I opened the door and stepped quietly outside. I was instantly chilled and it felt as though the darkness settled itself upon me. It was more like a haze than anything.

"Kage," I called, "I brought pie!"

He glanced over his shoulder and, though I could not make out his face as first, I saw that he was staring at me with confusing and slight annoyance. "Pie?" he asked. "Did you seriously say pie? Why did you make a pie?"

I looked down at the pastry and realised that I had no idea why I made the pie. Was it in desperate reminder of my wife or was it to keep my mind off of what was going to begin in less than six hours? Probably both. I just smiled though and happily answered, "Why not?" I paused for a moment, and when his features did not lighten up, I defended myself. "Oh, do not make me look like the mad one. Everyone likes pie!"

He slightly smiled. I took this as a sign that I was allowed to bring the pie out for him to try. I walked over by his side and set the tray on the railing, but I had underestimated its width. It flipped over the side and fell into the darkness. "Oh no, my pie!" I cried. I did try to blast it back up with my cane, but that only moved its falling destination further away from the balcony. All of my hard work just fell off of a castle. To tell the truth, that sounded like my life in a nutshell.

Kage reached off of the balcony and with a muttered word in Latin, the tray came flying back up and into his grasp. We looked inside only to find that the pie had fallen out. "I'm sorry," he told me. "But I am afraid the darkness is the one enjoying your pie."

"Shucks," I muttered. But I was not disheartened. It was not made correctly anyway and no one would have eaten it because of it. Well, I would have at least tried it, but probably have done nothing more after that. The cold was getting to me more than anything. The bitterness of the night reminded me of the chilly nights in the Cell. "Is it only me," I asked to bring up conversation, "or is it below zero?"

He nodded. "Probably." He did not seem to mind the cold. His cloak was heavy, though, so perhaps he was warm.

"I wish Keita had not picked the time he had," I said absentmindedly. Kage gave me a curious look. "What? You don't know?" When he did not answer, I explained to him, "The hour before dawn, the time that Keita is sending his escort, is the darkest hour… Always has been, and always… well, not _will be_ anymore, huh?"

He chuckled at the irony of it. "No." He thought it over and said, "Keita always has been a symbolic person. Perhaps the hour is to inform us that only darkness is ahead, and the dawn represents the coming of the dreamworld."

I had not thought of it that way. I had thought he had picked that hour just to send us into completely darkness. I never did like darkness, even if it did not hold me in a small room. It always sent shivers down my spine. Maybe he sends us at that time to mess with our minds. After all, being in nothingness for so long can drive one slightly mad…

A moment of silence passed but was broken when he asked me, "Soran, are you afraid of death?"

At first I had thought it was an odd question (and had been quite randomly placed into conversation – Kage was always straightforward, but geez), but realised why he was asking it to me just before I answered incorrectly. I told him honestly, "No. I used to be though. A lot." I paused for a slight moment to think of what to say. "Kage, you must see that, death is more universal than life; everyone dies while not everyone lives."

We stood in silence for a long time. He seemed to be reflecting back on his life to see if there was anything that he had missed. What he probably does not realise though is he is going to miss out on so much that could have happened in the upcoming years. Jobs, parties, marriage, family… I asked him. "Is there something you haven't done that you would like to?" I did not want to make any promises, but I still found myself saying, "If there is, we can do it. We have six hours, but we'll find a way for you to accomplish it."

He shook his head. "I don't think we can, Soran."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Kage," I replied with a forced laugh. "I'm sure we can sneak off for a while and do one last thing. Ero will freak, but I will gladly take the blame." When he did not produce an answer, I attempted to guess what he was thinking. "Is it baptism? If it is, I know how the ritual goes. Sure I'm not religious, but ---."

"I've already been baptized," he told me quietly. "You would consider it a stupid, implausible wish, you see." He looked down into the darkness to avoid eye contact. I did not see why he chose there particularly though – there was nothing to see but black.

"Tell me," I dared him suddenly. "I solemnly swear I will not even let out the slightest laugh at it."

He looked up at me with sad eyes. "Keita laughed."

"Well," I said to him sternly, "I'm not Keita, am I?"

Kage stared back down into nothingness, and then up into it. I knew he would tell me, but I believe he was just trying to find the right words. I did not disturb him. I only waited for his response. What he said, though, had thrown me completely off guard. Though he was a smart fellow, I did not suspect that he could conjure up such a touching, yet saddening wish. It was simple, but at the same time, meant everything to me. He did not face me when he said it. "I wish that… I could save you all… and have each and every one of you forget about me so you could go on with your normal lives…"

I gave out a haggard sigh and patted him on the back. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him, "but I am afraid I cannot help you with that."

He simply looked up at me, but this time his eyes did not hold sadness, but instead they held nothing, just like the darkness before us. "I know," he replied in monotone. "Nobody can."

* * *

Tails' POV

The hours before our departure went by at a tediously slow pace. Though we were uneager to leave, we passed the time by in any sort of way that we could. We found every CD in the castle (even if the music was an undesirable genre) and listened to them nonstop. We sat in a circle of discarded blankets, playing cards, and half-empty food bags talking about things that had to do with nothing close to our fate. Our conversations ranged from favourite book, to favourite memory, to life. The latter subject was one that I would most definitely miss.

There was one person with problems bigger than I, however. Though he smiled, though he laughed, we could see the life fading from Kage's eyes. He was the one who knew how each event would be played, how much pain we would feel as life slipped from our grasp, how mangled we would look when Keita was done with us. It was obvious that, no matter how much we tried to distract him, these facts were the only thoughts running through his mind. He tried to pay attention to us, and we tried to include him in every sentence said, but we were all unsuccessful. Soran had said something to Ero about the kitsune's wish that would remain forever unanswered, but I never got the chance to hear what it was. Maybe his knowledge of the future and this wish were intermingled and both were on his mind.

Everyone else, though, hid their pain. If I had not known them for the time I had, I would believe this display of acting was outstanding and never would have second guessed their emotions, but their joyful moods were for show. Even Ero, who was a brilliant actor, could not completely pull off the look of happiness. He was constantly glancing at his gold pocket watch to keep a hold on the time. Every time Amy saw him checking it, she would take a peek too. Everyone was anxious, everyone was scared. The Chao, however, seemed eager. He probably did not understand the extent of what was happening, though.

A low, droning sigh from Ero interrupted our conversation. He finally brought his watch into the view of everyone and informed us of the time. "Keita's escort should be here in around fifteen minutes… we better be gettin' outside."

Reality hit everyone at that moment. We sat for a moment staring into nothing. I felt naïve and stupid when I realised that I, who had been dreading this time since Shadow had told us of it, had never actually thought it would come. I had led myself to believe that the pointless discussions, the crumbles of potato chips, and the songs would last us forever. Kage was the first to stand up. The rest of us followed suit and prepared our supplies and threw on our cloaks in silence.

My cloak felt lopsided – it was probably because, while one pocket held my gun, the other held the ammo that weighed so much more. It felt so weird to be carrying a weapon into battle. Usually I had always gone with advance technology at my side. Sure the bullets released water at impacted, but a gun was so much simpler. Why had we not have thought of it before?

I had to search underneath the bunched up blankets and throws to find the skinny, long sword that the King had given to me earlier. He had told me it had been used back in the medieval days, when the skill of the warrior, not how advanced the technology, determined the outcome of a battle. Though the gun was much easier (and less messy) to use, the sword would allow me to save as many bullets as I could for Keita. Only so many bullets had been made because of the lack of time.

We were hesitant to leave the room. With the opening of that door and with the entrance into that hallway, we knew we were leaving our lives behind. The arguments, the vices, and the sins that we committed could never be forgiven. The hope, the virtues, and the innocence we had might as well be thrown out the door. But with heads held high, determination filling the air, we took a step out of the room and the first step towards our demise.

It was so quiet as we walked down the long hallways. I was used to soldiers crowding them, but now they were bare. I was used to the sound of portable machinery, but now the only noise was our footsteps and our cloaks that dragged across the floor. I grabbed Amy's hand. She looked up at me, but did not smile. She took her eyes off of me and glanced around. "Where's Nicole?" She suddenly asked. Her voice did hint concern, but I think that she just wanted to start up a conversation.

"She's not coming," Kage replied casually. "She left for Mori Mura right after that hedgehog left – didn't you see?"

I had even known that. She left to go home and support the dying town through the War. It was a futile attempt, and Kage told me she knew that, but she still went. Her magic would have been helpful to our efforts, but it was her decision what she wanted to do with her life. She had been invited to Keita's, and I am sure he will 'miss' her presence with us, yet he has not said anything (not, actually, since the day I figured out his true identity), so he must have not too much of a problem with it. I was thinking too much into this, but perhaps he had been the one to dismiss her.

"Right," she replied with an embarrassed chuckle. I think she had expected Kage to make fun of her or something because when it grew silent again, she looked slightly disappointed.

We travelled down several flights of stairs. It took us awhile because of Soran's leg. Though he kept telling us to hurry along, we did not want to leave him. While we helped him down, I realised that it had been awhile since I had been down on the base floor. The closest I have been to it was in the throne room, which was on the second. And, it had been over a week since I have been actually _outside_. This was a scary thought. I had only seen the city from the high views of the balconies, but now I would have to walk through them. I did not know what to expect. The city could look like it had before or could be so much different that I could no longer recognize it.

"You guys… are the worst assassination group I have ever seen," a voice told us just as we made it to the first floor. Faron, who looked much older than before, stood before us with a cigarette in his hand and, surprisingly, in normal clothing. Either he was not even close to leaving yet (which was improbable – the War was going to start in a mere hour), or he was going just like that. He was tired, much like we were, but the bags under his eyes showed it greatly. Maybe that's what made him seem so old.

Kage growled, but the soft smile that appeared on his face told that he was not particularly angry. "Have you even seen an assassination group before?"

He shook his head. "Nope. But you guys are the worst of 'em. I mean, it consists of three idiots, a crippled man, a Chao, a _girl _– how could it get any worse?"

"If you were in it," Kage replied smartly. "But, oh, wait, you have an army to command, don't cha?" When the General stretched out his hand, the black kitsune shook it firmly. "Who was the dumb-ass who decided to give _you_ that job?"

Faron smirked and let go of Kage's hand. "That dumb-ass would happen to be a very acknowledged King." He looked beyond him to find the rest of us patiently waiting for their sarcastic bickering session to be done with. He took a moment to look us over, but his smile dropped off his face as he asked, "Are you guys ready to get this done with?" Kage glanced over his shoulder to see our reply.

"Yeah," I finally answered for all of us. "I think a little revenge is at hand, hm?" I glanced at the others to see if I had replied correctly or not. It was the first time that morning that I saw their eyes shine with some form of anticipation. Yes, I guess Keita was getting on everyone's nerves enough that, despite the end of the world, we were still going to his lair to bring the fight, no matter how futile, to him.

We spent the next few minutes shaking hands, talking, and, at least, trying to laugh some of the fear off. We made jokes, we said stupid things, but with the end of the world only an hour or so away, true laugher just was not on the menu.

We were interrupted, though, by a soldier who opened up the creaky main doors of Hatsu's castle. "Sir," he reported quite wearily to Faron, not bothering to even salute him or honour him in any way except for the title, "a messenger from Shikyo(3) has come… He says he awaits Lord Kage and his companions."

"Great, you're a lord now," Faron said to Kage with a roll of his eyes. He looked back over to the soldier and told him, "Tell him we will be out in a moment."

The soldier simply nodded and left us at our lonesome.

The General turned to us and with all seriousness said, "Do try. Please. This is a stupid thing to say, but I would like it if my prays would be answered this morning."

Though nobody said it, I knew that all of us wished the same. We all knew that the dreamworld was going to succeed and that every _impure _individual on the planet was going to be brutally murdered, but trying to stop this fate was something that did not need to be asked of us. We were going to try to bring Keita down no matter what. We wanted to show him that we were more than he thought we were, that hope still remind in this worn down world, and that it was worth fighting for. But most of all, we wanted each of our faces to come up in his mind every day he sat in his _prefect _dreamworld. We wanted our names not to be forgotten.

With a silent agreement, we left the castle through the doors and stepped out into the world. It was just as dark as it was up upon the balconies and through the useless windows. Lanterns were clamped together in various places to keep the pathway from the castle out into the city clear of the grim bleakness of the night. Everything seemed to be losing its colour. The lights, instead of giving off a yellowish glow, had a tint of grey that spread onto the matter that was in its radius. There was no more foliage, only dirt, and all that remained of the trees were their lifeless bark. The soldiers that stood under the lighting were tired, afraid, and dull. Because of the lights, they gave off barely any colour – only grey. It felt as though I had just entered a black-and-white movie. I took a step down towards the bottom of the stairs, but quickly pulled my foot up when some type of ooze rapped itself around my ankle.

My attention was grabbed when a cloaked figure stepped into the light. The soldiers moved back with the fear that the person would attack them. I had suspected it to be Shadow, but remember him saying that he was commanding the armies for Keita. He approached the stairs with a carefree attitude. He bowed, and, though on first sight it would seem that he was giving us respect, he was really only handing it out to Kage and mocking the rest of us. He stood tall as he removed his hood to reveal his face and his cocky smile.

Our transport was none other than the famous Sonic the Hedgehog.

* * *

_1) I actually have no idea whether this is in the book or not. Actually, I do not even know if there _is _a book. So, please, do not argue over such a trivial thing because you are probably right_

_2) If you remember, Amy was mad at Tails at the beginning because he kept asking her for lunch money._

_3) I don't know if this was said, but only Tails and co., Hatsu's army advisors, and the King know that Shikyo is actually Keita. Telling the soldiers and the world this would only confuse (and disgust) them, and should be kept as classified information to reserve the spiritualists' honour (though it's already tarnished)_

Drag on chapter, I know, sorry. It was kind of angsty, I know, but with the end of the world only being a few hours away, I would be pretty much in the dumps too.

Now, the other day, I got an email from somebody about the chapter where the Princess's true intentions were figured out. They were wondering how Kage could tell it was _lemur _blood, not just regular blood. I had thought I explained this before, but if not, here is the reason: As you know, lemurs are endangered. Some of the kinds of lemurs are even extinct. Most people believe this is because of predators, but one race of lemurs actually died out because of its _blood_. Lemurs look like small, cute monkeys, right? Really, most of them come from reptiles (or, something that was cold-blooded). One evolution of the lemur could have happened before our very eyes if we would have been there for it. The problem with this small population, though, was that, despite being warm-blood, they still had all the equipment and thin blood for a cold-blooded animal. This obviously did not work out. But because of this, the blood has a distinct taste… according to the people that have… well, uh, tasted it before (not me).

I hope that helped and sorry if there was any confusion on that.

Oh, yes, I actually did write something fluffy in here. I am dearly sorry that you even had to lay your eyes upon that. (Scared of it myself)

Next chapter shall be out soon,

Kelsey

P.S. Before this chapter, my friend and I had an hour conversation about pie, and during this chapter, I baked two pumpkin pies. I love pie.

"It's always darkest before dawn. So if you are going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it."


	57. Chapter 56

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 56

Tails' POV

I could not help but admit that I was surprised to see the blue hedgehog. I swore that he had been killed off long ago because I had believed that Keita had no possible use for a fast hero, yet here he was before us. But I did not feel any joy towards his sudden presence – only irritation. He was no long the Sonic I knew. His green eyes were as dull as the night and his cocky smile was not from the speed or from the justice, but was caused by imagining how each of us would look once we were dead. No, he was no long my friend, my idol, my brother… but instead only another one of the worshippers, the servants, which were bent on destroying everything in the name of _love _and _perfection_. So I stared at him with cold eyes, with clenched fists, and with a stone-hard heart. If Keita had thought that he could have triggered any other emotion from me by presenting the hedgehog, he was wrong.

He had grabbed Amy's attention, though, in an entirely different way. She could not pull her eyes off of him for even a moment; it was as though if she did, he would disappear once more into nothingness. Maybe she had exaggerated when she said that she no longer had feelings for him.

"Lord Kage," he said in a way that did not remind me of Sonic at all (he would never use a courtesy title with someone who was not directly entitled to it), "we really must be going. Master awaits you and your _pets_. Dawn approaches and we cannot dawdle."

The black kitsune instantly directed his attention towards Soran in a way that made it seem as though the cougar was in the position to make the decision, not him. With a deep frown and a heavy heart, Soran gave him a simple nod. And by going down those steps, we left the security of the castle and went forward into our fate.

Sonic let most of us pass him as we walked down the stairs (though he was looking at us in a way that made me uncomfortable), but attempted to grab Kage's hand and help him to solid ground. Kage swiped his hand away and growled lightly. I noticed that Sonic was holding a white silk cloth in his palm to separate his hand from Kage's. It took me a moment to realise why – Keita would be ferocious if one of his underlings even laid a finger upon his sought-out prize. I shuddered. I wonder what he thought of _us _touching him.

"If you want to be of some sort of use," the black kitsune told him coldly, "you could help me get Soran," (with this he motioned up to Soran with his head), "down."

The hedgehog laughed as though Kage had been joking with him. "While silk can separate me from your greatness, it cannot protect me from his _filth_." He did not seem to mind when he received a glare as cold as the artic ice from Kage and a goofy smile from his lord's friend.

I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her quickly away the blue hedgehog, who was grinning at her. Keita must have told him about her past obsession with him. With one last glance, she finally broke her gaze and became more than interested with the ground before us. She studied each defect despite the thick darkness that covered it.

I only slowed my pace so Ero, and perhaps Kage and Soran (but Sonic seemed to be "attending" to them), could catch up to us. "So that's him?" the rabbit asked while glancing over his shoulder. "The Sonic you told me about?"

Amy instantly answered, "Yes, that's him."

"No," I said in immediate contradiction, "that's not him. Not anymore, anyways…" I did not know why I had to say that – maybe it was because I refused to think that was the hedgehog I knew greatly only months ago. She should have argued with me, but I was grateful that she did not. A useless conflict would only worsen our situation, which was already bleak and unpleasant.

"Our transportation should be right outside of these walls," Sonic told us once we were a good distance away from the soldiers and the castle. Though he said his words loud enough for all of us to here, we knew he was specifically speaking to Kage. "It is not for royalty but your pets should be happy that Master did not make all of you _walk_."

I glanced over my shoulder to direct my comment to the hedgehog. "Let Kage walk? Preposterous!" I noticed that a small smile broke onto the black kitsune's face, but it faded away as quickly as it came. If he was not in the mood for sarcasm, no matter how novice I was at the subject, he was not up for anything.

Something tugged on my arm. I glanced down to find Meep, who was just as eager as he was before. Actually, he almost seemed too confident, even for him. "Meep take care of everything," he told me with a grin. "A-kay?"

"Okay," Amy answered him quietly. We both knew that there was nothing that there was nothing that the Chao could do, but we still encouraged him. He can be happy knowing that he tried, just like the rest of us. We could not place, though, why he was so excited to go. At first I had thought that he did not know what was directly going on, but his endless reassurances, especially to Kage and I, told me differently. Maybe the Chao was smarter than we thought…

Just as I was going to ask Meep if he knew something we did not, Kage yelped (which sounded more like a bark than anything) and growled loudly while baring his teeth, particularly his canines, with sudden viciousness. And if Soran had not have abandoned his cane to grab him, he would have probably been tearing Sonic, who was laughing out loud, into pieces. "What, you cannot take a joke, Milord?" the hedgehog asked in a mocking manner. "Master always said you were the joking type, but I guess I accidentally pulled a string." And with leaking sarcasm, he added, "I am dearly sorry." Kage did not stop the deep rumble that came from the bottom of his throat, but did halt his actions of killing the hedgehog so that Soran could retrieve his cane.

"What did he say?" Ero asked as we stared at the snickering hedgehog and the obviously upset kitsune.

I shrugged. It was hard to get Kage truly angry like that. He just does not attempt to kill somebody without reason. But I noticed that Soran was not smiling, but instead was glaring at Sonic, who had continued walking on at this point. If I had not known him better, I could have sworn that he was vigilantly planning out the hedgehog's death.

We waited until they were ready to go and let Sonic take the led. The rabbit quietly asked his friend what had been said, but Kage never replied. He just kept his sights ahead of him. The darkness loomed so greatly over us that, if Sonic had not brought a lantern, we would have been lost instead the large courtyard. I remembered when I had breakfast with the princess here that it had been so beautifully decorated, but now only dead trees and black ooze reined. From above I could hear that calls of the crows, which were forever hungry though they had been eating the flesh of the dead all day. They, like many of us, did not know when to stop and be satisfied.

I caught, though, a particular bird call that I had never heard before. And as Sonic led us out of the gates, it grew louder and soon the noise overtook the pestering song of the crows. I had been expecting it to be a weird call of the raptors or even one of the shadow pterodactyls that had been taking the planes down from the sky, but I was wrong on both accounts.

It was a moa(1).

Well, at least I believe that it was a moa. It was a large, wingless bird that stood around ten metres (thirteen feet, I believe), but the reason I could not correctly identify its race was because it was simply bone. The only colour on its body (other than the white that was stained with countless shades of blood) was it's piercing yellow eyes, which darted frightfully across the dark landscape despite the light's cast upon it. It pulled restlessly against the black reins that were strapped tightly to its body and attached the bird to a dark brown carriage, which could easily be mistake for black.

"I told you he had a moa," Kage said lightly. Though he was trying to improve my mood, he was more trying to deal wit his own. Despite knowing this, a soft smile climbed up on my face. I was surprised that he remembered that conversation.

As we approached the hideous sight, I noticed that marks of blood were placed almost delicately upon the wood frame. Only when I was close enough to get on did I realise that they streaks read our names.

"Climb aboard," Sonic said in a slightly maniac manner. "Master is extremely eager for your arrival. The sooner you get there, the more pleased he shall be." He opened the creaky door and silently commanded us to take a seat inside. I helped Amy on and then climbed in myself. The seats were made of the same material as the outside, which made it extremely rough and uncomfortable. As Ero, soon to be followed by Soran, came on, a gust of bitter wind whipped our faces and wrapped us in a cloak of frost. I shivered and had to remind myself why July had suddenly become so cold.

This time, though great disgust was shown on his face, Kage accepted Sonic's help to board the carriage. He only needed it because he was pushing Soran up, but Sonic did not seem to care about this factor. He folded the cloth and placed it in his pockets as though it turned from nothing to sacred in a mere instant.

As we sat anxiously on the seats provided, I realised that this would be my last chance to breathe in fresh air, for I was sure Keita's lair would not possess it. I took in a long, deep breath through my nose, but soon found myself coughing it out. Ero had to smack me roughly on the middle of my back so I could clear my throat completely. I sighed in disappointment when I recovered; there was no longer fresh air to breathe.

With a harsh hiss and a snap of a whip against the moa's spine, the carriage began to slowly move. It took a few moments to rise to the speed expected (which was a tad faster than a horse's), but as the pace increased, I was frightful that the carriage was going to fall apart. It shook uncontrollably and the noise of loose metal hitting metal was even worse.

As though I had asked my question out loud, Sonic told us, "Master sends his apologizes about this carriage, Milord; but, you see, he did not want your pets to ruin one of his nice ones." He ran his eyes over us. "And I can see just what he was talking about."

"Just drive," Kage retorted gravely with sockets of growing frustration and anger.

"Of course, Milord," Sonic replied slyly. Without another word, he blew out the lantern and we were surrounded in darkness.

* * *

"_Abyssus abyssum invocat_." (2)

A boulder, which at first glance could have been easily mistaken as a normal piece of the rough exterior, shifted out of place and slowly revealed a path to us.

It had taken a while to arrive at the mine, but dawn had still not come. Getting up the mountain, though, (excluding trudging through the remains of Kiwi) was amazingly simpler than making it out of the castle. During our trip to the mountain, Ero had done a quick healing technique on Soran's leg, which allowed it to work normally for a short period of time. I did not know if it would help, though. The condition of his limp was so bad that the spell would wear off quicker than expected. I had my doubts not only about this, but a heap of them that this just added onto. I guess everyone has their doubts too…

The mine was already eerily and leaky (the mixture of water, slime, and blood was not the greatest of combinations) at first sight, but when the stench from the newly found path reached my nose, it became worse. I understood why Soran called this place Hell. Instant feelings of claustrophobia struck me when I thought about how tight of a squeeze it would be to get inside the entrance. And worse, I had no idea what was in there. Would Keita meet us right away, or would we have to fend for ourselves to find him? If the latter, I knew he was not fool and would not keep us together. How would we be spilt up? And will our deaths be in a specific order, or does he hate us with equal passion and does not care which one of us dies first? Until we entered, I could not even begin to make assumptions other than the ending result: Death.

"He awaits you," I heard Sonic cooed ever so lightly. It sent shivers scurrying up my spine. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I felt real fear. Over the last few months, the feeling had been dulled to a point that, when it did come, it would not grasp me as it did before. But now, I could barely breathe. The darkness of Hell, though, reached out with arms of steel and pulled upon my heart.

With one last piece of dignity, and while raising my last ounce of courage, I stepped inside. Though they hesitated, the others soon followed. When I set my foot deeper inside its gates, lanterns lit by fire flickered to life. I sighed in relief. I had thought that _he _would leave us to wander through darkness. I was instantly wrapped in an invisible force that chilled me to the bone. I determined to be a figure of my imagination, but when I saw Amy shiver, I thought that perhaps something was truly in our presence. I hoped that it was not Keita.

But I had something else to worry about. When my friends and I passed the hidden entrance, Sonic muttered a spell and locked us inside. We stood in shock. I did not know if it was wise to attempt to reopen the path or not. I assumed that this was Keita's way of guaranteeing that we were stuck with our fate. He was not going to let us leave alive – no, not with the "sins" that we have committed against him. While the world struggled for their survival, we would have to struggle for ours.

"The main entrance is ahead," Soran told us quietly. He spoke as though that, if he said something too loud, he would disturb something sacred. And by the look in his eyes, I think I could tell exactly what he was respecting: the spirits of the victims.

We followed him down the rugged path in silence. It lead us down, deeper into the mountain. The trip was short, but we had serious difficulties getting through. The path (if you could call it a path at all) was so steep that, so you would not fall, you had to take one step at a time and always look at your feet. If you were distracted by something else for the slightest second, you could find yourself tumbling down it – and possible hitting sharp edges on the way. It was probably made this way so that, even if one of the miners found this place, he would not try to go down it because of safety hazards. It was a good strategy, but I could not help but ask myself how they got the prisoners through here. Perhaps there is more than one path inside.

We jumped down from a ledge to find the main entrance to Keita's lair. It reminded of the well outside of Knothole. It was a hole into the earth that was decorated by red and brown bricks that had been put together with a paste that was too disgusting to even mention. We could all easily fit inside of it without colliding into each other on the way down. I did know, however, if it was a good idea to go blindly into a well. But as I observed the room, I found that there were no other entrances unless there was another secret path.

In curiosity, despite some of us remembering this hole from before, climbed upon the well's stature and stared down in hope of finding the bottom. We were disappointed to find that it seemed endless. I had this fear that we would be pushed in suddenly by Sonic (though he was no longer with us) or something else, but no one ever came.

"So," Kage asked in a very sardonic voice, "who wants to go down the creepy rabbit's hole first?"

The cougar instantly grinned. "Well, Ero _is _a rabbit." He glanced at the white rabbit with amusement. "You have the honours."

"Oh, _funny_," Ero replied with a roll of his eyes.

I chuckled, but quieted myself when I realised that this was the last moment I would have to say anything to all of them at once. "All funniness aside," I told them soberly. I made sure that I grabbed everyone's full attention before I continued. "I would just like to say that it has been a real honour to serve next to all of you. There could not have been a better picked group… or any better people to share my last moments with."

"I need to thank you all, too," Kage chirped in almost immediately. He did not look like Kage when he said this. He could not even meet our eyes and talked in such a small voice. "I am sorry I got you into this… And, if anyone wants to pull out now, I will understand and… respect your decision."

"Keir," Soran said, calling him a nickname I had not heard before, "I think it is a bit too late for that, wouldn't you say? We're already locked in here – where else do we have to go but down?"

I nodded. "He has a point." I gave another quick glance down the large, deep well and said with a smirk, which had to be ironed on my face to stay, "We don't want to keep him waiting, do we?"

"Of course not," Soran replied. "That would be rude."

I knew our sarcastic attitudes were there simply to cope with what would happen in this madman's lair, but it reminded me of the easier days, even when Keita was on the loose. And anyway, it was better going in with bravery than in with cowardice. But I remembered what Soran had said to me earlier this morning: _Bravery makes you run head on into the darkness while fear in the one that catches the knife just before you're stabbed in the back_. Perhaps fear is a better companion than bravery.

And with that, we each jumped into the well one by one. When I leaped in, a strong scent filled my nose and, though I tried to repel it, it filled my system and knocked me out in silence.

* * *

I woke up with a pounded sensation in my head. This had not been the first time I had come out of unconsciousness with this sort of pain, but this was actually from a hit to the head instead of being transported to a different world and back. When I first opened my eyes I was seeing everything in twos, but my sight was recovered with a couple of blinks. I had been roughly placed against the dead end of the cave so that when I woke up I would face my directed path. The smell that had knocked me unconscious still lingered, though it was not as strapping as before. I coughed so I could get at least some of it out of my system. The first thing I heard was a constant, droning tick that was faint, but ever present. I knew that it was the sound of machinery. The Machine Soran spoke of might be closer to the entrance than I thought…

"Tails okay?" A high-toned voice asked. I glanced over to find Meep on my shoulder and almost directly in my face. It was then that I realised that the Chao was the only one with me. I growled lightly in protest. Even though Meep knew how to tear up chameleons, he could probably be of no use when it came to the stronger beings.

I murmured a positive reply and stood up, which I think was not the best action to take. My head spun, and I almost fell over again. As I raked my hand through my hair to give my head some sort of comfort, a drop of a liquid substance landed on my fingers. At first I assumed that it was water, but Keita would not let water just appear in random places, and anyway, this was much thicker. I glanced up and cringed at the sight. A body of what appeared to be a cat (or some type of feline, at least) was pinned to the ceiling with large, metal spikes. Its chest was ripped open and its ribs were clearly seen. Its heart had obviously been removed and its lungs were punctured. Both of its eyes were missing.

It seemed oddly placed since the rest of the hallway was as clean as a cave could be. I moved before the next heap of blood fell on my head. I was unfortunate, though, because my feet landed in a puddle of the same exact substance. "Shit," I sighed. I was already covered in blood and I had not even killed anything yet.

_Unless you killed the cat_, I heard Keita say mockingly. I did not reply because, even if I did, he would probably say nothing in response. He had more important things to take care of than bickering with me.

The Chao interrupted my thoughts, "If Meep find Machine, Meep know where Meep going…" I did not know if the Chao was telling the truth, but if he was, it was definitely a comfort. I knew that this place was larger than any of us suspected (even Kage and Soran, I am sure they have not seen all of it). Though I dreaded it, the faster I got to Keita, the better chance we had to extending the Army's time. And anyway, I wanted to meet up with one of my friends as soon as possible – I did not like that I was practically alone.

I stepped onto the dry earth and shook the blood off of my boots. I did attempt to get the substance of the hem of my cloak too, but I ended up smearing it more into the material. Just as I let go in defeat, a drip of blood smoothly rolled down. I had not thought that the splash had been that high. I pulled the cloak up so that I could see how bad the splatter had actually been. I let go as soon as I saw what had been marked upon me.

"What wrong?" Meep asked me with concern.

I glanced down as the large number one that had been written on my cloak with the dark, red liquid. "We've been marked in the order than we are going to die," I told him with a slight croak. "And I'm first."

* * *

_1) Yes, this is the same moa that ran Kage over when he first met Keita._

_2) Translates roughly into "Hell calls upon hell" in Latin. _

Wow, some things have definitely changed, huh? At first Keita wanted Tails alive and now he (if the numbers really mean that) is going to be the first to die. Creepy (not really, but I just like the word. Like blasphemy. Haha, makes me laugh every time… especially in Theology…)

Though I probably shouldn't give you this, this is how the people are going to be spilt up: Tails, Meep; Amy, Kage; Ero, Soran (the last one is going to be fun to write). So, yeah… don't worry, people who just read this for high blood content, these last chapters are going to be full of it. And people who like the flashbacks, character formations, and such, that'll be in here too. Hooray!

Busily planning out the next chapter,

Kelsey


	58. Chapter 57

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 57

Amy's POV

I hastily threw my cloak over my head and discarded it with a huff. Running around in just my red dress and boots was not particularly suiting, but it was better than having a giant number two written in blood on my chest. I whipped off the droplets that had landed on my fingertips on a clean part of the cloak. I could not help but wonder what the number meant. Though I could not come up with the right conclusion, I did notice that Kage did not have one. This worried me greatly.

I pushed the thought out of my mind as I reached down for my hammer. I looked up to Kage, who, for the first time I have known him, was waiting patiently. Just when I had thought his manners had increased, however, he dumped the water-pack into my arms and said, "You carry it." I wanted to argue, especially since I did not feel like lugging the large thing around on my back for an extended period of time, but he was already walking down the hallway before even a sound of protest shot from my mouth. I sighed. I knew that if I was not eye-to-eye with him that he would ignore me. I started after him with irritation. I instantly noticed that the water-pack gave me a distinct hunch and having to drag my hammer did not help whatsoever. I was surprised that he did not stop and mock me for his own amusement.

As we walked through the clear path of the cave, there was a spooky silence that covered it in several layers. I glanced around to focus my mind on something else. I studied rock formations, shadows, and even the cracks in the floor. I was afraid that if I stepped by some of the splits that they would be unstable and I would fall through, especially since I had this huge pack on. So I avoided them, which slowed me down even further.

I was grateful, though, that I was placed with Kage and not another (though, I guess, Soran would have been an ideal choice to). He at least knew some of the places in Keita's lair while I could not even remember where we came from. This was definitely to my advantage. When we had to stand at a fork and guess on which direction take, though, I second guessed myself. Maybe Kage did not know as much as I thought.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked him sharply. I knew that I should not be questioning him, since he was already in an antsy mood, but the words had already slipped from my lips. And anyway, I wanted to make sure that our situation was not going to be worse than it already was.

He clicked his tongue lightly on the roof of his mouth as he glanced in both directions. "No idea," he finally answered. I was going to shout at him, but decided against it when he informed me, "Keita did not exactly let me out much."

I took a look down both hallways myself. "Let's go that way," I said while pointing to our left. I growled when he instantaneously began to head towards our right without a word. "Why don't you ever listen to me?" I questioned him harshly. When he did not answer, I trailed him heavily despite my anger. I hoped that he would become annoyed of my dawdling and take the pack from me soon.

Kage was in his own little world though. I knew that he was not exactly happy that he was here. But I could not help but try to guess what he was thinking about. I was so focused on the thought that, because I was not paying any attention to my surroundings, tripped over one of the cracks on the floor. The water-pack shifted to my right and I almost fell over because of its weight. Luckily, I was able to catch myself with the help of the spilt.

That was when I noticed the writing. It was scratched out on the ground, very close to the wall, in a dull, white chalk. The letters were meshed and difficult to read, but I was able to translate it out: _"Deeper into Babylon he goes – will he make it out alive? – this answer, Everyone knows." _The message itself was a bit creepy, but the capitalized e in everyone grabbed my attention. At first glance I thought that the person had made a mistake, but then I saw that it was rather oddly bolded. "Kage," I called aloud. I did not glance forward to see if I had grabbed his attention or not, but instead continued with my question. "Who is Everyone?"

His presence almost instantly loomed over me, and he tried to drag me away from the writing, but my foot was caught by something in the crack. "Let go," I told him angrily. I pulled my arm away from his grasp. A stinging sensation began in my ankle and foot. "That kind of hurt!" I covered my mouth when my voice echoed down the corridors.

He hushed me with a sharp hiss. We stayed completely still for a minute while staring down the rocky hallway. I prayed that I had not awakened any of the Guardians or anything else that lurked in this place. Once he knew that no one was coming, he whispered roughly, "Everyone is everywhere at every time. And they're always watching, always waiting. Don't provoke them."

I nodded quickly. He had not answered my question directly, but I got the idea that Everyone was dangerous and not even safe to speak of. When Kage got serious like this it scared me in more than one way. He seemed relieved, though, that I understood.

I waited until he started down the pathway again so that I could follow. But when I tried to recover my foot from the gap, I found that a hand with brownish yellow claws was tightly grasping it. I tried to pull away in fear, but it simply contracted its grip. I looked forward, hoping that Kage had seen what was happening, but he continued on. "Kage," I whispered as I glanced back down at the hand then to him. He did not hear me.

This time, I called his name louder, but he still could not hear me. Or he was simply ignoring me. I had a feeling it was the latter. So I took things into my own hands. I lifted my hammer to knock the hand off, but, because of the pack, I could not turn around enough to hit it without damaging my ankle. So I tried to pull away again, but I was unsuccessful. When it grasped me tighter this time, however, its claws sunk into the skin of my ankle and grasped the bone. I howled in pain.

Kage's sickle sliced through the creature's wrist and detached it from its body almost directly after I began to call for him, no longer caring about the tone of my voice. He pulled me away from the spot with the pack, but we were only able to watch as the Guardians, in a liquid black form, slid out of the cracks and surrounded us. They covered the walls, the ceiling, and even one stayed as black ooze and settled itself on the floor before us. Their red eyes gleamed with the light from the torches as they observed us carefully. They were eager to attack, but started to settle themselves down when they realised who Kage exactly was.

He pulled me closer to him. "Don't make any sudden movements," he told me hoarsely. "As long as you're close to me, they will not hurt you." A few moments passed and, except for the heaving of our chests from the stressful situation, nothing moved. "The water," he told me softly. "Use it."

I reached to the back of the water-pack slowly and carefully but noticed that some of the Guardians flinched even with this movement even though I was as deliberate I could possibly be. A clicking sound echoed itself down the hallway when I detached the nozzle. I closed my eyes. Nothing happened. I gained confidence as I rounded it around me, but I did not become careless. Aiming it towards the creatures closest to us, I put my finger ever so lightly on the trigger. I smirked. I was no longer worried. Power was at my fingertips. "Bye," I muttered ever so softly, and I pulled the trigger.

I felt like dying when nothing came out.

I pushed it several times hoping that water would shoot out properly, but it never came. "Kage, it's not working," I whimpered while looking up at him with fear. I did not care that I was stating the obvious – this mishap was one that could easily be my death. But I had not expected to get killed with the black kitsune by my side. The only reason the aliens were not ripping me apart was because it might get him hurt. I tried to pull the trigger again, but I could not accomplish it. I was frozen in fear. My muscles were tense, my bones shook, and shivers scampered up my spine. I could not even move my eyes off of him. And from the look on his face, he could apparently see my fright. "Think of something, say something, _do _something," I breathed.

He took action. The pack was ripped off of my back, and as we made an escape the way we came, it was left behind. He slashed through the stomach of the Guardian which was blocking our route and quickly pushed me through the gap. The creatures screeched with anger. They had obviously not expected us to make a run for it. It was either that or stand in silence until Keita came to us. The latter was definitely unwanted.

Despite the pain that swirled around my ankle, I did not dare begin to lag behind. The creatures were only a meter away and, without Kage directly by my side, they would tear me apart. We ran pass the fork we were at only minutes earlier and took the direction that I had originally suggested. We skidded around the bend, which greatly slowed down our pace. We were never able to recover to the speed we had been going before. Suddenly, when we were half way down the hallway, Kage flung me behind him. I stumbled to the ground, but was able to push myself up and back upon my feet. I turned myself around to see what had happened. Kage held up the body of a dog, which had been brutally murdered (and half eaten) and threw it towards the Guardians, which had their sights upon it in interest. When the food had been provided to them, they instantly forgot about the chase they had been on and began to feast upon their prize.

"Come on," he shouted while he took my wrist and hurried me further down the hallway.

We stopped once we made several more turns and were sure that the Guardians would not be able to track us. With a heavy sigh, I sunk down to the floor. I looked up to Kage, who was panting. "Great," I said in annoyance, "we were given a weapon that doesn't work! How are we even supposed to injury Keita without it?"

The black kitsune was barely listening. His mind was obviously on something entirely different. Finally, he answered, though only in a mutter, "I just hope everyone else's is working…"

* * *

Ero's POV 

"Why the hell doesn't this thing work?" I questioned in anger. I pulled the trigger several times to allow water to flow through the pack and through the nozzle, but nothing happened. It was the same result as the last five attempts. I growled in annoyance. This had to be some kind of joke. I took the water-pack off of my back and placed it in front of me for closer examination. "Did they even put water in this?" It took a few hard tugs, but I was able to open the lid. The pack was full, just like it was supposed to be. I slammed it closed and kicked it over. "This is just _great_," I said with a huff. "They knew that we were the ones that would need these machines the most, yet they gave us ones that do not work anyway! What the hell is wrong with those people?"

If there was anything to be grateful for, though, it would be this: we tested it before we got into a sticky situation which might have needed it. I had expected the result of the test to be positive, however, not negative. This was not good. And, to make my experience down here even worse, I had a huge number four written in blood on my cloak _and _was stuck with the person that had number three: the cougar. This really was just great!

"Now Ero," Soran said in a disgustingly happily manner, "maybe you are just not operating it right." He lifted the nozzle off of the ground with care and observed it carefully and thoughtfully. "Perhaps you hold the trigger down," he suggested. He performed exactly what he had said and a dribble of water leaked out. He grinned with unneeded excitement. "Hey, water!" He looked to me. "A drop is better than nothing, right, Ero-pu?"

I growled both at the annoying nickname and the entire statement. Bloody optimist. "Oh, I'm sure that this _one _drop that comes from this no-good machine will just _incidentally _hit Keita right in the _eye _and _kill him_!" I felt like banging my head against the wall, but after further consideration, my mind did not advise it. Even though I had performed some healing techniques upon it, the wound that Keita caused from our last encounter was still present. And anyway, those rocks look rather sharp…

"Eye?" Soran asked bewildered. "I never heard anything about having to shoot him in the eye…" He pointed the nozzle towards him and glanced inside. "I guess if we tackle him to the ground, restrain him, and shoot it in his eye, we could, but…"

"No, no eye!" I screamed in frustration. "Forget I ever said anything about an eye, okay?" I buried my eyes in my hands slowly removed them from my face in an attempt to calm myself down. It had always helped before, but it was not doing wonders now. I was going to ask Soran how exactly we would tackle Keita and restrain him, but remembered that if I did, I would be playing one of his games, and that was strictly prohibited. So I moved on to more serious matters. "Maybe a rock is stuck in the tubing or something. Is there any way to take this apart without ruining it?" Though the General had explained to us how to use it, he never told us what to do just incase it did not work. We had no idea how to fix it.

"Well," the cougar said in thought. I was surprised that he was actually being serious for once. "We would need a screwdriver and a wench to get the pipe off…" He almost instantly addressed my confusion. "They are tools for machines." After a moment, a grin spread onto his face. "Or," he said, "we can use our imaginations!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Imaginations? You must be kidding me."

He pouted. "Oh, Ero, you're not fun at all." When my expression did not falter, he handed me the front of the nozzle and said, "Look in while I pull the trigger. We'll figure out where the drop of water came from and then have a better understanding of where the clot is."

I wanted to make a comment on his sudden intelligence shift but quickly decided that I would rather get this water-pump working than exchange sarcastic remarks all morning. So I looked inside the nozzle to see if I could find the clot. I could only see glints of silver and an endless pit of black. "Shoot it," I told him.

Nothing happened. Not even a drop of water. Not even a click of the trigger.

"Hmm," he muttered, "the trigger seems to be jammed." I looked to where he was using both of his thumbs to try to budge the trigger. "That's so weird. It was working fine a few minutes ago."

I disagreed. "No it wasn't. There was no water coming out." After waiting for a few seconds, I sighed and said, "Let me do it."

"No, no," he told me in a slightly annoyed manner, "I've got it. Just give me a moment, would you?" Though I did not think he would actually succeed, I still looked back into the nozzle, but this time let more light in from the torch above so it would maybe show me more of the inside. It did not help much, though. "Almost got it," he said after a moment.

Suddenly, Soran let out a yelp, and, all too quickly, the nozzle flipped into the air, but not before letting out a stream of water and a rock, which just happened to hit me straight in the face. I fell over and held my nose, which I swore the stone had broken. I opened my eyes to see a mixture of blood and water. God, this is not my day!

The irritating sound of Soran's laughter hit my ears. "Oh my," he said with a chuckle, "that was definitely not expected, hmm?"

I sat up and let him see my bloody nose. "No," I growled lowly, "it _wasn't_." Even though I knew that this was not his fault, I considered throwing the rock at his nose so that he could feel my pain. He was the one that should have gotten hit by it, anyway, not me. I was just an innocent bystander. Why does fate hate me?

"Oh my gosh!" He shrieked. "You're nose is bleeding!" He rushed over to my side and took out a piece of cloth from his cloak (what was that doing in there, anyway?) and covered my nose with it. "I am so sorry! I had no idea that the water would push the rock out that fast. I would have never had you look in there if I would have known." I noticed, however, that he was trying his best not to laugh. "I do not think your nose is broken, though, thankfully," he told me after removing the cloth and examining it.

I took the cloth from him and pushed him away. "How would you know?"

"The Messengers bash noses in as warnings," he answered quietly. "Smell was one of the only things you can go on in this place. Without it, you might as well consider yourself dead."

"Oh," I replied dumbly.

He hastily moved to an different subject. But I did not hear exactly what he was saying because I was busily trying to treat my nose. I flinched when the green mist that rose from my hands went up my nostrils. It quickly, and rather heartlessly, shifted everything back to order and then proceeded to fix the bruising. The mist tickled the interior of my nose so greatly that I could not help but sneeze. When the pain disappeared, I shook the magic off. I just hoped my nose looked all right.

"I will take the water machine… thing," I announced as I picked the pack up and strapped it to my back. "And do not go saying that it is not fair because you have that gun of yours."

He actually seemed quite cheerful about me taking charge of the water (damn, I just now noticed how heavy it really is), but he did make a comment on the gun. "I wish they hadn't." He held up the gun, which Tails had told me earlier was a type of machinegun. "I am not the best when it comes to automatics."

"Oh, that's great to know," I said with a roll of my eyes.

That was about the time that I noticed a shadow had been cast upon us. I vaguely recalled that when glancing around the cavern when I first woke that there had been no major shadows such as this. The cougar seemed to have discovered this too. He had stopped talking several seconds ago and now stood as still as stone. I did the same, though I hate to say that I was a bit more curious. I glanced to my left and then to my right, but there was nothing but the cavern's rough walls. There was nothing behind Soran. I gulped. There was only one place left for it to be…

With haste, I swung around and pulled the trigger on the nozzle. It only let out half of what was expected. Luckily, the blast still hit the raptor, which shrieked on impact, and its skin withered as it fell to the floor. Several more, which appeared in pools that leaked out of the cracks in the ground, lunged themselves forward with claws extended and tear bearing.

I lightly snapped my fingers and my axe appeared in my hand. Despite the heavy weight of the pack, I was still able to maneuver decently and kill the lizards with ease. I had sworn that Keita would have sent Guardians after us, but he was either in short supply or he was currently not calling the shots. No, it was definitely not the latter. That bastard would have to be locked in a concrete cell with thousands of curses upon it before he let something slip out of his control.

The fight ended as quickly as it came. I was relieved that I had come out without a scratch, but something did not feel right. It had gone far too quickly.

"Ero," the cougar said, "we must go." If there had not been a shot of urgency in his voice, I probably would have no listened.

I let my axe disappear into thin air and, as quickly as I could, trailed him. Just as I was going to step out of the horde, one of the raptors shot its head up, swallowed my hand and my wrist, and bit down on my forearm. The pain of the bite flew through my body as I screamed. It felt as though venom was being injected into me. I tried to point the nozzle at the creature to kill it, but its grasp and the loss of blood made me feel faint and immobilized me.

A single shot echoed through the air. The teeth that sunk into my skin slipped cleanly out and the beast, which was this time truly dead, fell to its resting place. My arm was shaking from the sudden pain that has struck it. Blood dripped to the floor. I found myself still in shock. I just stared. My breath was hot and heavy. My mind spun in circles, but I was able to grasp a hold on myself before fainting. I took the cloth, which Soran had given me for my nose, and pressed down on the wound to halt the bleeding. I glanced quickly up at the cougar. "Thanks," I barely whispered.

But I noticed that something was wrong with him. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and it was like he had been startled so much that he was frozen. I asked him what was wrong, other than the fact that my arm was oozing blood, but he would not answer. Soon he was pacing back and forth muttering to himself words that never reached my ears. I took a look at the wound and then back up to him. And, despite not liking him, I grew worried. "Soran," I called, hoping to grab his attention during my second attempt, "what is wrong?" I did not see why he, the person who was perfectly fine, was acting like this.

He did not look at me but instead at my arm. Quietly, ever so quietly, he told me with fear and a tint of surprise, "You've been marked."

* * *

Tails' POV 

I watched as the bullet barreled through the Guardian's eye and shot out the other side(1). With a screeching cry, it tumbled to the ground and into a puddle of its own boiling ooze. Even though it was burning in its own liquids(2), I still took the time to behead it quickly with my blade. You can never be too careful with these things.

I raked my hand through my hair and gave out a sigh. This was the third Guardian that I had killed in the last fifteen minutes, but they had come at such uncharted times that there was no way that this was meant to be a direct onslaught. To tell the truth, this was easier than I had first predicted. I had been expecting to be in a constant swarm of chameleons, raptors, Guardians, and maybe even Messengers, but instead I, for the most part, was left alone. Maybe the number that still remained on my cloak did not predict the time of my death…

Or, Keita was just messing with me and waiting until I fall into an utter state of confusion to shove the knife into my back. Either one.

"Ay!" Meep squealed suddenly, though it was not as loud as usual. He had not supplied any help whatsoever thus far, but I guess it could be justified. Every conflict that has happened ended up to be a one-on-one sort of fight, and he would only get into the way in the end. With sudden intensity, he asked, "Ever danced with a _tuna_ before!"

The only thing I could even think to reply with was a weird look. What kind of a question was that? I really did wish that I was paired with someone else, preferably Kage. Meep said he knew the place, but I was sure that his small mind could not map out an entire lair like Kage's could. To put it simply, we were lost. We have probably made all the wrong turns, when through all the wrong rooms (some which just happened to be filled with bodies), and made all the wrong directional decisions. We were heading nowhere. I knew that soon we would have to retrace our tracks and get our eyes set back on the goal.

"Meep," I questioned him, my voice full of fatigue, "are you sure you know where we are going?"

He seemed upset that I did not answer his tune question, but did respond, "Nope! Meep 'ave absol-ootely no idea!"

I found myself wondering whether I could actually hit the Chao with a bullet or not. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to find my groundings once more. There was no use in yelling at him – he probably would take it as a joke anyway. I glanced back behind us while trying to decide whether to go back or not. It would not hurt, but could I really afford the time? What if I was going the right way? Too many questions, too many possible answers. I really hate being lost, especially in a madman's lair. It never really has its ups, only downs.

The clicking of the Machine was indeed louder, though. Maybe if I got the Chao and me to the deadly thing, he would really know where he was going. It was definitely worth a shot. However, actually getting to the Machine was the problem. Even if we were closer than before, it did not mean that there was a path directly to it. There was a possibility that the way we were going now completely passed it, and what good would that be? Oh well, it was certainly the best plan to investigate.

I continued in our original direction with a lack of confidence. I hoped that, if it was a dead end, that it would reveal itself soon. I did not want to be wandering all over the place for an hour when I could be attempting to dethrone Keita. I groaned about the thought and had to agree with myself that _attempt_ was the keyword. Unless his plan had flaws (which I am sure, after his first almost flawless plan, it would not) or one of us suddenly gained superpowers (which was also improbable), we were practically toast.

A door. A metal door had come into perfect view when I rounded the corner. I had suddenly become antsy when it came to doors. Not only were they extremely heavy, but they also had something always behind them – and in Babylon, the content doors hid was never exactly good.

Meep zoomed over to the door, as happy as could be. He had to wait for me, though, to actually open it. I slid the sword into its sheath and pulled out my gun. If there was anything awaiting me, I would rather shot it from the safety of the hallway than run headlong into the room with a blade that I barely knew how to use. I pulled down on the heavy handle and slowly unlatched the door with my shoulder so it was ajar. With the pistol ready, I glanced into the room.

Nothing. The only substance that was contained in the room was the metal walls and the other door. It was cleaned, almost even _polished_ – almost as though it had never been used. I found myself curious, but hastily reminded myself that it was curiosity that killed the cat. This could be the exact trick which could get me killed. Suddenly, retracing my steps did not seem like such a bad idea. So what if it delayed me from Keita, at least it was safe.

Just as I was going to close the door and leave the empty room alone, a Guardian, teeth bearing, appeared into view from the other side. Quickly, I tried to throw the thick metal into a tight lock between us, but it grabbed onto the loose edge and threw it wide open with any sort of struggle. I wasted no time. I shot a bullet straight through its neck, but when it fell down, it only revealed the dozens that were now forming and mobilizing.

Soon, they were flooding out of the door, clinging to the walls, and launching themselves upon me. I only had one option – one that I did not like, but it was the only one available: Run. I grabbed the Chao, which was trying to slice off one of the many Guardians heads and raced down the hallway. I hit the wall while skidding around the corner, but I did not let it slow me down. They shrieked behind me, scampering across the floor, the walls, the _ceiling, _hell-bent on my destruction.

Only when one ripped the back of my cloak did I realise that I was not moving fast enough. With determination, I launched myself into the air and spun my tails swiftly. As I had learned from my years of following Sonic: Flying was always faster(3). I flipped around cocking the gun and shooting at the mass of monsters trailing me. The bullets spiraled through the air hitting the Guardians in several assorted places. Their cries grew louder as a few of them flopped to the ground dead and were trampled by their companions.

"Tail!" Meep cried. Though I ignored him the first time, his constant pestering finally drew my attention. Instead of answering with words, as he usually did, he simply pointed behind us (which, truthfully, should have been before us).

At first, I was afraid to look. It was never good when someone like Meep suddenly ran out of words. I knew it was necessary, though. So, as quickly as I could, without disregarding the Guardians excessively, I glanced over my shoulder. What I saw was definitely not pleasant.

It was a huge mouth. Its teeth were sharp, yellow, and tinted with blood. The entire hallway was taken up by the unknown creature's large size. Its purple striped tongue curled to the ground leaking poison. Ragged breathes came from deep in its throat forming mist that thickly covered the walls of the path. It snapped its tongue making a ricocheting noise that echoed high above the Guardian's continuous screams. It was prepared, sitting, waiting… It knew I was coming. It was waiting to consume me.

I had to act. There was no possible way I could get passed the mouth and trying to fly through the Guardians sounded like suicide. Barreling my way through the ceiling or floor would take too long and fighting both sides would ultimately result in my death. I did notice, though, that there was a small gap by the mouth, but it was too small to get to. The object that drew my attention, however, could be seen through it: a door. If I could only get to it, I could cut off the Guardians and escape the mouth. But how?

I slowed myself down just enough so I had a few more seconds to think. An idea, a crazy idea, a Kage-like idea popped into my head. It was morbid, it was mad, and it had a small percent of success, but it was my only chance. With extreme haste, I stuffed my gun and Meep deep into my pocket and, with growing confidence, drew my sword. I sped up, flying through the air straight towards the monster's mouth, a place that, seconds ago, was the least favourable of all destinations. I placed the sword before me while muttering a prayer that did not even have complete sentences. I squeezed my eyes shut, and, with a cry (probably one of fear, not bravery), I raced into the mouth of the beast and tore through it. It clamped its jaw shut and almost swallowed me whole, but I was amazingly able to cut myself through to the other side. Acid covered my body as I unleashed myself from the back of the monster's throat, but I was able to cleanse myself by spinning through the air several times.

For a moment, I was stunned. There was no way that that plan should have worked. But it did, and I was alive. I heard Meep let out a giant yelp of joy while behind us the screams of the Guardians and the moans of the unknown monster mixed together in a rather off-key and creepy harmony. Even though only one or two Guardians were following me, I did not take chances. I headed straight for the door, threw it open (though it was in a much slower time span), and pushed it closed behind me.

I sunk down to the floor, leaning against the cool metal, and let myself regain myself physically and mentally. But during those few seconds, I realised my mistake. I had entered a room without checking whether it was clear or not. My eyes snapped open and I was instantly on my feet, blade ready. What I saw, though, made me lower my weapon.

The brunt figure. It sat lifeless on the floor, just as it had in the Temple at Mori Mura, only in a much worse condition. Both of its eyes were now brutally torn out, though the sockets remain wide and watchful. Blood trickled from the cracks that covered the crispy brown skin. The black ash, which had been blended deeply with the brown, was now completely removed and smeared over the walls forming words that I dared not read. One of its arms was completely cut off (and happened to be lying on the other side of the room) while the other still held the two fingers that it had before. The two tail bones were bent in twisted directions and its ears were torn in half. Just as before, though, it swayed ever so slowly, and still it muttered unintelligently. I was surprised it – _she _– was still alive.

I stared awed. Finally, one word slipped almost silently through my lips.

"Ai?"

* * *

_1) Yes, this can actually happen. I saw it on CIS: Miami… Or New York. I think it was Miami though. Yeah, there were palm trees and other assorted beachy stuff. If you don't watch that show, you should. It's really good._

_2) While blood in a mammal is deoxygenated, it is a dark shaded red (most believe that blood inside the body/deoxygenated is blue because of the colour of veins, but actually this is just a trick involving light penetration). But when it comes in contact with oxygen, it turns a bright red colour, like, for example, when you receive a paper cut. Now, blood plasma, which makes up fifty-five percent of blood, is made of ninety-six percent of water. Water, as you remember, is the only substance that can permanently send Keita to the grave, so his minions obviously cannot contain it. This is one of the reason that all of them, even the Messengers (who will later make an appearance), seem very sluggish and almost 'non-living'. But anyway, what was suppose to be their blood was replaced with a liquid, resembling that of a oily poison, which could not only slip through arteries and veins easily and be pumped by the heart, but also harm the enemy. Now, back to what I said at the beginning – blood-like substances change when they come in contact with oxygen. When this liquid comes in contact with oxygen, though, unlike our blood, it goes to extremely high temperatures in a matter of seconds because of all the chemical reactions. This results in the burning of flesh, like what happened to Tails in Chapter 54 and this Guardian being burned by his own bodily fluids. But you are probably wondering how the creature can breath then. Well, the atmosphere contains around twenty-eight percent of oxygen; you only actually transport five percent through your body. This shows that too much of a substance really _can _kill you. _

_3) I just realised that this is like the second time Tails has flown in this… That's amazing. _

Hi, everyone. Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a wonderful day. Now, the people who did not receive anything cannot say that, though, because this chapter is my present to you.

I know that nothing too wonderful was in this chapter, but this was more of a chapter to get things going. The next chapter, which I'm hoping to get out at the beginning of March, should be much more eventful (to the displeasure of the characters).

See you then,

Kelsey

_P.S. Gasp! Look,_ Darkest Before Dawn _almost has 300 reviews! Thank you all so much!_


	59. Chapter 58

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 58

Ero's POV

"Marked?" I asked weakly. Though I did try to prevent my fear from becoming apparent, it still leaked out freely. I had no clue what 'marked' meant, but it did not sound good, especially the way the cougar put it. My questioning about it, which had been going on for several minutes, had not been heard. Soran was turned away from me, deaf to my callings, and was verbally pulling apart the situation. Unfortunately, I could barely hear his frantic whispers, and what words did reach my ears were unexplainable. I needed him to address me soon because his actions and the situation were beginning to make me fall deeper into worry. The word 'marked', which really does not sound pleasant in itself, was the only thing that crossed my mind and brought horrible, false meanings along with it. I saw death after death that Keita could easily have prepared for those who were 'marked', and, as each one came and passed, I was swallowed deeper. Why could Soran have not been the unlucky one? At least he knows half the twists of this place!

The cougar suddenly whipped around to face me. He seemed more collected than he was before, but I noticed that he was playing with his fingers and, when he talked, it was still quick and panicky. "Okay," he told me, trying to calm himself, and maybe me, down at the same time. His eyes were attracted to a distant wall, though. "Heal it. Can't you heal it? Make it go away?"

I shook my head, though only after I made the motion did I remember that he could not see. "I can heal it, but it would leave a scar."

He immediately threw his face into his hands and rubbed his temples. His odd chatter started again, though this time it was quieter and obviously quicker.

This raised my level of worry to an even greater height. In a hurry, I dropped the cloth, which had been pressed against the wound, to the floor and began to mutter the strongest healing spell I knew. Maybe if the cut was fresh enough, it could actually heal it completely without any after marks. Green and white mist branched from my hand and securely rapped itself tightly upon the bite. I flinched as it applied pressure and hastily began to do what repairs it could. It stitched muscle, it regenerated skin, and it halted the excessive amount of blood, but once it was halfway done I knew, to my disappointment, that there would be a quite noticeable scar. I glanced back up to Soran, who was now writing something upon the wall with his nail. He was not going to be happy – hell, I was not happy. This 'mark' could easily be the end of us.

When the mist retracted itself, it revealed a red and purple scar that stood out greatly amongst white fur. I stood there staring at it, thinking, hoping, and came up with an idea. "Soran," I called, "can't I cover it? It's not like a Guardian is going to hold up my arm and check me…" Suddenly, I lost confidence. "…right?"

"The Guardians won't," he replied after a moment, "but the _Executioners_ will."

I gulped. Moments ago, I had thought that 'marked' was the worst word that was in my vocabulary, but now it had been replaced by another. "Executioners?" I asked meekly. I had a feeling that I did not want to hear the explanation, but there was no way of avoiding it.

He pushed himself away from the wall. There was a new glint in his eyes, but it was one that I could not specifically place. "Yes," he responded, his voice holding a slight rasp. "The Executioners are vile beasts, much worse than any other of Keita's creations that lurk in this place. They live for the kill and breathe for the scent of spilled blood. They have one job – to prepare the subjects for the Machine." He continued quickly before I could connect the two together. "There are two victims: one marked, one unmarked. They are taken to the basement, right below the Machine. The marked victim is tortured, killed, and put into the Machine to become a Guardian… or to become just another attachment onto Everyone. And the unmarked victim… well, must I comment that the scars of he who is unmarked is worse than the death of the marked."

My mind began to put together the puzzle pieces, and, though I wanted to act composed about my sudden situation, I was unable to keep myself from yelling, "There is no way in _hell_ I am being put into that Machine!" Images of how frightening not only the Executioners, but also the mouth of the Machine, impounded themselves into my mind. At that moment, the pain of the mark increased so greatly that I had to wrap my hand tightly around it. I looked to Soran, whose frown was deep and his eyes narrowed in thought. It was hard for me to believe, but I found myself asking for his guidance. "What am I going to do?" I asked him quietly, pleadingly. Being tortured and then slammed into that Machine was not an ideal death.

The cougar glanced over his shoulder, looking down the only path that we could tread. "Let us hope that this road does not allow us to cross paths with the Machine. I have never heard of the Executioners leaving their post."

"And… if we _do_ come in contact with them?"

A sorrowful, frightened, and all-knowing stare was all I received. Instantly, despite no verbal answer, I knew that it would be my death. I would never be able to stand against Keita as I had hoped, and I would never be able to see Kage or the others again. Before we had come here, I had constantly reminded myself that this would be my last day alive, but, now that I know how I am going to be killed, it scared my senseless and I found myself in denial.

"There's no time to waste," Soran told me solemnly. "The sooner we are in clear of the Machine, the better." He cocked his gun and then added, "Just remember… look before you leap, think before you hop."

I nodded and took the words to heart though I found myself denying that I would ever actually have to use them.

We began down the hallway in dead silence – something I thought would never settle with the cougar around. I tried to distract myself, but my sights always returned to the mark. And each time they did, it would always look worse than before. I groaned softly. It was just my luck that it bit _me._

What bothered me more, though, was that Soran's smile had not returned. His grin did irritate me, but the last time he had put on such a serious look, we were just about to confront Keita – and, in that state, he had cut off the tip of his ear with a _flaming _sword. That just does not happen everyday. It comforted me that he was taking this as sincerely as he could, but it also just downright scared me. Who knows what he would do – especially to me. If we were heading towards the Machine, would he abandon me? I sure hoped not.

As we continued on, I realised I was becoming paranoid. Not only was my mark now burning (something that a bruise like this should not do), but the constant sound of the Machine became louder and louder. I kept comforting myself by staying that our path was just going by the vile thing, not actually leading _to _it. But I noted that Soran was becoming more and more frightful. He was talking to himself more rapidly and now did not make sense at all. Also, he was playing with his fingers as though they were a distraction. I looked down at the mark and grimaced.

Soran stopped so abruptly that I almost ran into him. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but he then commanded, "Get your axe out…"

I snapped my fingers and the handle my axe dropped into my hand. For a moment, I forgot why I had not had it out in the first place. But then I remembered that I had the water pump. After consideration, though, I realised that it was not too reliable. The last time I had shot it, it only gave out half of its expected amount. I sighed lightly. Nothing was going right for us today…

The clicking and the mumble of the Machine continuously grew louder. We travelled on in silence. Soran's random mutters were now completely halted, but, by his stiff nature, I could still tell that they were running through his mind.

Louder… louder. The noises, the crackles, the pumps of the Machine could now be heard clearly. I began to worry. But I reassured myself that, even if we did meet up with the Machine, the Executioners were down in the basement, not above. Maybe we would be able to sneak through. I mean, Soran knows his way around well enough to lead us through unseen… right. "Soran," I called. When I believed that I had his attention, I continued, "You've seen it before… the Machine, right?"

He looked back to me with a weak smile. It was obvious that he was recovering from his shock about the mark. "No," he answered truthfully. "If I had, I'd be dead." He looked away. "Anyone that rests eyes upon it is doomed to die, they say…"

'Well, _that_ helped my mood,' I thought angrily. Now if I even lay eyes upon the heap of metal I was going to _die._ I knew what Soran said had to be a superstition among the patients, but they would know better than anyone.

The pain from the mark increased with each step. At first I had sworn that it was mental pain, but once it felt like nettles were being injected into it, I knew it had to be something else. I looked down to find the little balls of light were dotted amongst it. I began to frail my arm trying to rid myself of them.

"Don't," Soran called back. He did not even glance over his shoulder. It was as though he knew exactly what was happening before it even started. "They're trying to help you."

I glanced back down to find that they really were trying to heal me… but, what were they? I wanted to ask, but I had the feeling that I did not want to know. I was surprised, though, that something was willing to _help _me in here. I thought that everything would be bloodthirsty. Oh well, I like this better than my first assumption.

When we rounded the corner, the sounds of the Machine began to pound into my ears. I finally had to pull my ears down with my free hand. We both stopped, focusing on the door before us. I gulped, and I'm sure Soran did too. I knew exactly where it lead.

The Machine.

* * *

Amy's POV

Since our run-in with the Guardians, we had been down several hallways and left many without prevail. Though the first couple dead ends were expected, the ones that followed grew increasingly on my nerves. Every time we would meet up with one, we would have to not only retrace our steps, but also make sure that we did not go far enough to cross the Guardians we had barely escaped. I kept my verbal complaints to a minimum though the ones in my mind were infinite. But every moment they would arise in my mind, the more they pushed to flow out of my mouth. I withheld them, though, for my sake more than anything, but the pressure to blurt them out still opposed me greatly.

Finally, when we rounded the corner only to find yet another dead end, I let out a cry of frustration. I slammed my foot into the ground, not caring about the judging expression that Kage was now giving me. I heaved while clenching my fists and positioning myself in a stiff pose." If we run into one more dead end," I declared with a menacing and ticked tone, "I swear I am going to tear my hair out!"

The black kitsune chuckled, obviously amused. "That would be fun to see."

Very slowly, I moved my eyes to glare up at him and his unwanted smirk. "I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm!" I told him. I pointed directly to the dead end. "Do you know how many of these we've ran into the last thirty minutes or so? Too many! I am getting sick and tired of it."

"What do you want me to do?" Kage asked dully. "Ask for directions?"

"Yes! Something in the form of directions would be nice." I folded my arms and let out a huff of air. "Doesn't this place have a _map_ or something?"

He shrugged as a reply. I lightly growled. I hate when I'm not given a direct answer. I did not argue with his knowledge of the place, though, because he had already told me he had no idea exactly where we were from the beginning. This meant that a location of a map (or anywhere, to be precise) would not be found with ease. I realised that, in order to find our way, we would have to run into countless other dead ends, and this did not make me happy. "Well," I asked (I tried to sound polite, but I think he noticed that I was grinding my teeth), "do you remember _anything_ that could get us heading in the right direction?"

He instantly retorted with another question, "Does it look like I know where I'm going?" Though sarcasm leaked through his voice, I also heard frustration. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and, though he gave a low growl, he quickly apologized. I was not used to him feeling remorseful enough about something he said to actually verbally say sorry for it. Bewilderment was my only emotion at first, but quickly I came to understand his reason. He was not happy he was here. Well, I was not particularly joyful of our position either, but the only thing that could come from wandering these hallways for him was memories, even if he did not remember travelling them before. I guess I should have thought twice before rallying up Kage.

I leveled out my annoyance and my anger, and told him, "We'll just retrace our steps again." Though this was not the most preferred choice, it was still the best one we had. "I'm sure we will find the right way at some point."

His looked up from the floor, and, because of the lighting, his red eyes seemed to glow. "Fine."

Just as we turned to start our tedious trek to find our way, the sound of boulders smacking against each other and hitting the ground reach our ears. A low, booming moan rumbled from behind directly afterwards. Kage and I froze in our tracks. My blood ran cold. At first, I was afraid to turn around. It struck me odd that something could just suddenly appear seconds after one looks away. What really bothered me, though, was that the sound did not come from a Guardian. But what else could it be? During a brief moment of silence, I slowly glanced over my shoulder to see what it was.

A serpent. The hundreds of yellow eyes that were planted across its body looked like the brightest light while its body was the colour of the dark night. It was made up of many different animals' limbs, but since the being was soaked in black goop, they looked like mere extensions off of its body at first glance. Its mouth hung open, revealing long, yellow teeth and an endless black hole. Its purple tongue hung to the ground, long enough almost to meet my heels. The snake was so large that, when it had appeared, it blocked the view of the dead end that I now wished to see. It sat there in silence; it was waiting for us to make a move.

Why had Kage not told me of this? I looked over to him to find that thousands of plans were currently running through his mind. But just as the black kitsune chose a plan, and just as he began to execute it, I realised exactly what the beast was:

Everyone(2).

As I took a step backwards, readying myself to whip around in the opposite direction and run, the serpent retracted itself into the wall and then launched itself at us with ready jaws. I yelped in fear (and in shock – I did not think that something so big could move so fast), but I was not able to recover because Kage was pushing me down the hallway. "We need to make it to one of the rooms," he told me. "It can't burrow through metal!"

'Oh great', I thought in irritation. The only thing we have seen for the past thirty minutes were rocks. I did not know how he expected us to find a metal haven when it seemed as though one did not even exist. I readied my hammer. I had the feeling that we would, in the end, have to fight it. But Kage had not even attempted to attack it – and he was usually one for quick deaths, not Cat and Mouse. Maybe running was the best option.

I looked over my shoulder to find the serpent closely trailing us, using the assorted arms and legs to push itself through the hallways, which were almost too small for it to fit. I sped up, ignoring the pain in my ankle. My sight stayed forward until I heard the sound of the serpent burrowing through the wall. Just as I glanced back, I heard a frustrated cry from Kage. I whipped around to find that the creature had come out from the right and was now blocking our escape way.

My grip on my hammer tightened. I looked to Kage for guidance.

He was about to say something, but the serpent whipped out its tongue and rapped it around my waist. I screamed when I felt the sensation of burning saliva on my skin. I squirmed in an attempt to free myself, but I was not successful. I felt the acid drip into the pores of my skin and tears came to my eyes. Right when I could say I was receiving actual burns, I was suddenly released and a scream came from the monster. I yelped when my tailbone hit the ground.

I looked to find that Kage had slammed the end of his scythe onto Everyone's tongue. It twisted its head, trying to retrieve its tongue, but the black kitsune pressed his body weight onto the handle so it would start to pierce the skin. But I knew that it would not last for long. "What are we going to do?" I asked him while getting into a position where I could easily transfer myself no matter what the decision.

"Well," he told me in annoyance, "for starters, you can stop getting yourself almost _killed_ every five seconds!"

I considered slamming my hammer down on his foot, but with a giant pull, Everyone was able to recover its tongue, and we were in danger once more. It gave out a low hiss of angry. It snapped its jaw shut and then, seconds later, it let a giant slob of acid saliva (though, I could not help but notice that some of it leaked out of a misplaced hole in the back of its mouth). I was pushed to the wall by Kage, who temper was building by the millisecond. Despite this, I still had the nerve to ask, "Any ideas yet?"

"I'm _thinking_," he replied in a growl.

We barely dodged the claw that swung from the creature's body and tried to grab us. I brought my hammer down on the limb and received a cry from the beast, which was growing more and more impatient. With a shriek, it snapped at me, but I was able to easily avoid its jaws. Hundreds of claws released themselves from the wall and began to garb at us. I tried to fend them off, but soon it became overwhelming. One particular hand grabbed onto my hair and yanked it up. I tried to release its grasp by slapping it with my hammer, but I could not aim correctly. So, though it was disgusting (and it burned), I grabbed onto the limb, pulled myself up, and bit it. It instantly let go of my hair and retracted itself into the wall. "You can finish thinking whenever!" I called to Kage, who was having his own share of problems.

His response, though angry, was still a relief to hear, "I'm already done! Now get over here!" Though I had some difficulties, I was able to relocate myself to his side. I was pleased that we had a plan under our belt, but I could not help but notice that there was a look of discomfort and fright in Kage's eyes. He quickly sliced the legs and arms that flailed around us to buy us some talking time. "Listen," he told me, "this plan… might not work. But it's the only chance we got. Do you trust me?"

My mood sunk. I was expecting some great plan that would get rid of the monster for good, not one that 'might not work'. Terrible results flew through my mind, despite the fact that I did not even know the details of the plan. I trusted Kage, though, so I nodded for him to continue.

"You see that gap by its neck," he asked me while pointing to the area in question. I looked over to find that there was indeed a hole by the creature's lower left side, but it was far too small to pass through. "We are going to make our escape through there."

My confidence in the plan wavered even more than it already was. "But how?" I found myself asking. I found myself thinking of explosives, blades, and distractions, but those plots would fail.

Kage was about to answer, but the creature threw itself at us and almost captured us in its mouth. We moved back into a mess of claws, arms, hands, and legs. With a mutter, a black mist funneled out of Kage's hands and wrapped itself around the limbs, paralyzing them. "Don't worry; it'll move its head," he promised me. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he added, "When _he _comes."

I looked at him in bafflement. "What?" I criticized. If we were thinking of the same _him_, the plan was equal to suicide. I could not believe that Kage would even think of such a thing – bringing Keita into this equation and hoping to make it out alive (well, me alive, him not captured)! That madman would be down our necks so fast that we would have no time to retaliate. So, with displeasure, I stated my opinion, "You're mad."

"There's no other way to get out of here," he told me while he maintained the paralysis on Everyone's legs. "Every spell that would make this thing move would also affect us because of how close we are. So, until… Keita comes – or if we're lucky, one of his higher minions, we're stuck. And, I would rather him come and use it to our advantage than just giving up, wouldn't you?"

I found myself nodding. I still could not believe that he was considering this, and that _I _was agreeing to it. I opened my mouth several times to protest or perhaps to ask a question, but I never could get the words to flow out. I wanted to be the conscious – the voice of reason, but, I soon realised that to survive here reason had to be discarded It was all based on instinct, nothing else. When in a situation like this, statistical thinking had to be thrown out the window and an insane plan with tactful strategies had to take its place. I shook my head with disbelief but planted my eyes onto our small escape route. The plan was probably going to fail, and we both knew it. But Keita did not use reason, so we were not going to either.

I just hope that it worked for us as well as it has for him.

"Keep your eye on the mark," he whispered. He lightly grabbed my forearm and pulled me forward, away from the creature's paralyzed legs and arms. "And, whatever you do, do not look back. Our path is forwards, not backwards." We stepped closer towards our goal. "And, once you start running, do not stop. One second of hesitation and he'll catch us for sure. Understand?"

I took in a deep breathe and nodded once more. I focused even more on the small gap by the creature's throat. I did notice, though, that Everyone had stopped snapping or grabbing at us. It must know that Keita is coming. Even though I was ready to execute the plan, the fact that it involved _him _on our heels stopped me from putting my trust in it. I wanted to look to Kage to see his feelings, but I dared not take my eyes off our path of escape. Despite my doubting mind, I was prepared… or so I thought.

"Get ready… he's coming," Kage informed me huskily. I instantly dropped back into second thoughts – mentally and, more so, physically. Would my ankle be able to hold up in such extreme pressure? The more I thought about it, the more it hurt. I tried to push this and the doubt from my mind, but failed.

Then, as though on que, the room dropped to freezing temperatures. Shivers from the shift of air fled up my spine. From behind, a strong breeze gusted through the hall, easily gliding around the monster's long body and brushed against us. The signs of Keita's presence were clear, but the gap did not grow any larger. "Kage," I muttered urgently, not switching my eyes, "it's not opening."

"Keep watching."

A blackish purple mist began to cover the walls before me and spread itself across the room. I breathed in the fumes, instantly becoming slightly nauseous, but it paled in comparison to the fact that my vision on the gap began to blur because of its interference. I began to freak out, but kept composed on the outside. "Kage," I said again, this time sharply.

"Not yet. When the time's right. Keep watching."

I noted that his grip on my arm began to shake. I did not know whether it was from the sudden switch of temperature or the fact that Keita was behind us. I had a feeling it was the latter. Some sort of comfort would be the best cure, but I knew that he wanted me to keep my sights on the passage, so I did. But, as the mist became thicker, our worry and fear rose. Soon, out of the corner of my eye, I could see that behind us it was turning black. I guessed it was some sort of portal, but I was not sure. Instead, I kept my curiosity to myself and continued looking at the gap, which was being covered by the troublesome mist.

Then, just as I heard a footstep echo through the great hall, Everyone moved its neck high to see its Lord. And, as it did, our passage was revealed to us.

"GO!" Kage shouted. Though one of my doubts had been my ability to actually get us through this gap, it was as though we went through it in a quick moment. We broke out of the blackish mist just as the creature screamed in anger. By the rumbles in the hallway, I knew that Everyone was on our tail, but whether Keita was following us or not was unknown to me. I just hoped that he had gone away, though I knew that I was fooling myself.

We ran through dozens and dozens of hallways trying to rid ourselves of Everyone and Keita, but even the most evasive tactics did not seem to work. I knew that at one point during this chase that the serpent would have lost us, but the kitsune was behind its every move, guiding it. I wanted to look back, just to get a glance at him, but decided it was not in my best interest. And anyway, if the branches full of snapping heads were his, I did not want to see what he was like while using them.

As we made our escape (which, just to inform, was going better than excepted, but worse than what was wanted), I realised a flaw in our plan. We were heading towards a metal room so that we could rid ourselves of Everyone, but Keita could easily open a door. I gulped. This was not good. I wanted to tell Kage, but he was too busy trying to make this insane idea of his work.

"Right," he commanded while pushing me over to the mentioned direction.

To my surprise, I recognized the hallway. "No, no, left! Left!" I informed him as I grabbed his arm and pulled him the other way, hoping he would follow. Thankfully, he decided not to be a prick about it. As we turned the correct way, however, we were both tripped by one of the branches. I froze.

This was our one second of hesitation.

A set of teeth clamped down on my bicep forcing a painful scream. I tried to pull up, but, when I did, my skin began to tear. Fresh blood flowed freely from the wound and fell smoothly onto the head's face. It was instantly distracted. The head forgot about the bigger prize and began to savour the liquid it received instead. Just when I thought I was free, another grabbed my ankle, and another my shoulder. This time, when I tried to throw them off, my skin did rip, but they did not let go. I reached out for my hammer, which had been released from my grip when I fell, but it was too far away.

The head that was devouring the skin around my ankle let go unexpectedly. I looked to find that Kage, who was held down by the branches than devoured, had grabbed its jaw and snapped it. "Again," he told me with an annoyed growl, "the almost dying thing… it really needs to stop." He stood up smacking the heads and vines off of himself. "Now, lets _go_!"

I ripped the head off of my shoulders while doing my best to block out the intense pain. With haste, I grabbed my hammer and we were off once more, running down the hallways just as before. Except, with one horrible exception: Keita was much closer than before. We did, though, lose Everyone after that. Either the kitsune became irritated with the beast's large size and dumb mind, or it was just left behind. Whichever the case, at least we needed not to worry about it any longer.

We raced down a particular hallway where I could not see an end nor a turn to. At first I had just believed that it was a lighting effect, but when we had to come to a screeching halt at the edge of large, deep cliff, I knew that we were in trouble. We stared down into the abyss, but there was no light of any kind. I was expecting some sarcastic remark from Kage about my directions, but nothing ever came. When I glanced up, I found that he was standing completely stunned as he looked down into the black hole.

I stepped back, shaking my head. "This is the worst kind of dead end there is."

I never did receive a response.

What brought us back to reality, though, was the sound of the chanting heads, an indication that Keita was close. We had to take some sort of action. The black kitsune, in almost a frantic manner, grabbed my free hand and announced, "We have no time! Jump!"

Before I could protest, he threw us into the middle of the endless darkness and plummeted down into its essence. I grabbed onto Kage's cloak and hung closer to him as we fell. Whether I screamed or not, though, I never could tell because, not too far behind, the echoes of the snapping heads filled our ears. My vision began to swirl and my mind became hazy because of the sudden blood loss. I looked down, hoping to see the bottom, but it was still dark. A dark purple light unexpectedly came from above and almost blinded me. In instinct, I looked towards it, finally deciding to rest my eyes, despite blurriness, upon Keita.

But it was not him. Or, at least, I did not believe so. It was a cloak figure that had to stand at about eight feet tall. It had claws about half of its size sticking out of black sleeves and it had red eyes as dark as blood. From the bottom of its cloak came the many blue branches with the countless reciting heads.

No, it was not Keita. We were truly fortunate. But now the question was how were we going to get rid of this thing?

Kage seemed to notice this, too. He looked to me and yelled, "I know how to stop it! Once we land, just keep going without me!"

"What?" I questioned. "I'm not leaving you!" No, I was definitely not going to just abandoned him. He was my friend, and, also, if he was captured and sent to Keita, I could never forgive myself, especially when I could have tried to do something. I gripped tighter onto his cloak to show him that. Even though he has no spoken too greatly about his past, I did know this: He has been left alone to fend for himself too many times.

Then he said something, but I could not hear him over the screams that reigned around us. I was about to ask him to repeat himself, but in an instant I was ripped away from him and he sent me flying down ahead of him. I was in such shock that I almost lost my hold on my hammer in the process, but I was able to recover it and myself. I glanced up, despite the blinding light, to see exactly what Kage was attempting to do. But, when I did, my spine smashed into the ground.

I laid while trying to recover myself. For a moment, I swore that I had broken my back. But, once I saw that Kage was going to fall right on top of me, I was able to move quickly. I began to sprint down the nearest hallway, but skidded to a halt when I remembered that I was leaving Kage and when I heard a scream. I looked back hoping that it had not been the kitsune. For a moment, there was nothing. Quietly, I began to go into a breakdown. What happened? Whose scream was that? What if Kage is dead (this question was somewhat of a no brainer, but still)? Could I have stopped this? But, instead of going to investigate, I stood there like a lifeless zombie. How could I be so heartless and afraid?

But then, almost as though it was a miracle, Kage emerged. But he did not look happy. "Didn't I tell you to run?" He asked lowly. He hurried over to me and awaited a reply, but I was too overcome with the entire experience to respond. The kitsune rolled his eyes and said, "Listen, we don't have much time. I weaved a water net, but I have a feeling it won't hold up for long…" He looked up, and so did I, where a large water barrier hung. "I've never exactly done one before…"

"Oh, thank you _so _much for making me feel secure, Kage," I growled slightly after finally finding my voice.

He was about to reply, but then a branch full of snapping heads burrowed in between us. Without even glancing up to see exactly what the monster was doing, we rushed down the hallway and in search of a metal door once more. Since he had been able to escape before, I had more confidence in our plan. If we found our haven soon, this might just have to go into the book of best insane ideas.

Then, miraculously, when we slid around the bend, there was exactly what we were looking for: a metal door. I wanted to jump up in excitement (and, I was so happy, I was considering hugging Kage), but then the branches began to dig themselves out of the wall and block the way. I readied my hammer. There was no way I was going to let a few branches and some snapping heads get in my way when my goal was only a mere few metres away.

"Don't worry about killing them," Kage told me lowly. "Just run. If any grab onto you then serve them their fate."

I nodded.

We rushed through the masses ducking and jumping over branches and avoiding the heads, which were eagerly biting at our flesh. I had to stop a few times to smash heads in because they were able to clamp onto my arms or legs and would not let go, but other than that, I got through quite easily. But then, just as my hand went to rest itself on the handle of the door, my head was almost ripped off by a pair of long, yellow claws. I flipped around and slammed my hammer down in hopes of hitting my attacker, but it only met ground.

The creature, which was flying above me, screeched loudly, its voice echoing down the hallway. I winced from the pain in my ears. It was almost as worse as the Guardians. It dipped down and slashed its claws in my path. I jumped out of the way when it tried to dig its weapon deep into my flesh. Unfortunately, I fell into a branch and the heads attached themselves to me. I thrashed ferociously in an attempt to get out of their grip. I even abandoned my hammer to try to rip them off, but nothing was successful. When the leader tried to stab me in the stomach with his claws, I was able to throw my body over the branch and kick it in the chin.

My head hit the floor, causing an obvious concussion, but the heads were not able to maintain their grasp. I jumped up on my feet ignoring the pain. The black cloaked creature launched itself at me before I was able to fully recover. I was able to move, but a magic spell threw it into the wall and its own branches.

I looked over to Kage. "Open the door," he told me. "I'll stun it and be right in after you, all right?"

I wanted to argue with him, but knew that if we did not get the door open soon that the branches would effectively block it. I picked up my hammer and rushed to the metal door without any disruptions. A feeling of accomplishment and excitement rushed through my body when I rested my hand on the handle and pulled it open. It revealed a room that I immediately assumed was used for storage. I threw myself inside and closed the door halfway, just enough to keep the branches out. I pocked my eye through the cracked door watching for Kage.

But, because of the growing branches, I could not see him. At first, I was calm, but as long seconds passed, I began to fret. At the moment, I really wished we had the water pump so I could whither the branches or even kill that monster. Actually, if we would have had it, we would not even be in this situation – we would have been safe at first glance with Everyone. So I called for him, but I received no response. I screamed for him again, but, I could not hear whether he replied or not over the chattering of the heads.

I was forced out of the doorway by a branch that got too close to me. The head almost was able to grab onto my nose, but I flipped myself around to that my back was against cool metal. Then, just as I thought that Kage was not coming back, a scream arose from the monster and a black flash entered the room. With speed, I slammed the door shut.

* * *

Tails' POV

I stepped towards her quietly, carefully. I held my breath. I was not frightened by her but instead of a creature that could possibly be concealed somewhere in the room. When I examined the room, though, I relaxed slightly. Other than the ash spread across the walls, there was nothing resembling a black blob of any kind. I did no let myself become foolish, however. The creatures could be blended with the dark shadows or hidden under the miscellaneous objects in the room. _She _could even be one, though looking at her, I did not think so. The aura around her was just as it was before…

I felt a rustle in my pocket as Meep climbed out. I had been expecting him to yell or do something that was, quite frankly, stupid, but instead he remained calm as he lowered himself to the ground. At first, I scarcely paid attention to him, for I was concentrated on Ai, who was completely unaware of our presence. But then he quietly asked, "Ai dead?"

"No," I responded. I took another step forward, scooping down a bit to the left to bring myself closer to her height. Another step, but this time lengthened. The screams of the frustrated Guardians still echoed from behind the door, but the heavy metal cut down the noise. I could barely hear it, but the flapping of Meep's wings softly followed me. One more step, and I was close enough to kneel down before her. And I did. I softly put down the weapon and rested my arms upon my knees. Both of the arches of my feet were left in the air while the balls of my feet molded themselves into the ground. If I was attacked, I would be able to jump up with ease.

My ears perked up so I could listen and maybe understand her mumbles. I faintly smiled when I realised it was a familiar tune: Nightingale. It had been a while since I had heard that song. Or maybe it had been only two weeks before…

It was then that I was reminded that she had indeed talked to me. It had been a tad creepy, I will admit, but that did show some signs of remaining intelligence. So, quietly, but with determination, I attempted to coax her to do so again. "… Ai?"

There was no response.

I stiffened a little, raising myself up higher to see if there was any sort of physical reaction. Nothing. I sunk back down into a slouch and sighed. Maybe it had been Keita that had made her talk… maybe she was just a living vegetable(1). I found myself disappointed. Her level of awareness was something that I hoped was great because… I wanted to apologize. For the last couple months, minus a few days or so, I had been cursing her, blaming her, hating her, when really she was a victim. It was strange staring into the face of someone you accused of so many things. Suddenly, she seemed so innocent.

I watched as she rocked forward slightly and begin to tremble. Almost instantly, I reached out to grasp her arm, but I stopped myself. I did not know how she would react to physical touch. I withdrew my hand far enough to avoid contact, but it did not return to its original position. Other than a bite, she could not be much harm to me, though. And, without eyes, finding a hardy piece of flesh was going to be time consuming. So, when her shivers increased, I placed my hand lightly on her forearm with the intention to comfort her.

She froze. Her incoherent humming and her trembling ceased almost instantaneously. She still faced the floor, as though she knew that, even if she did attempt to search for her invader that she would never be able to find him, see me. But then, surprisingly, she relaxed. Her muscles loosened completely and she almost fell forwards, but I held her up. My anticipation grew. If she could actually respond to this, maybe there was hope. It was small, but hope, nevertheless. I observed as she sat perfectly still. There was no humming, no movements, and, for a moment, not even breathing.

But then, just as I was going to begin saying my soft words once more, she gave out a ragged, almost lifeless sounding sigh, and continued her trembling and, after a moment, began humming Nightingale just as before. I said her names several times, called her to come out of her shell, but there was nothing… nothing.

With regret, and with sorrow, I set her softly up into her original seated position and let my grasp fall away from her arm. She resumed to her activates before my arrival as though she had never been interrupted. I pushed the soles of my feet into the ground and stood up quietly. She did not notice, and now I knew that she would never notice.

"I'm sorry," I said to her softly and with remorse. Though I knew that she would not see, I still gave a bow in respect. I bent down, grabbed my sword, and motioned silently to the Chao that we had to move on. I saw he had some protest, but I was already heading towards the door.

And with a heavy heart, I continued on, not wanting to look back.

* * *

Amy's POV

I gave out a long sigh of relief while looking up to the metal ceiling and silently thanked God. My ears picked up that there were no sounds from behind the heavy door, but I was too thankful to find it odd. Then, I found myself laughing out loud. I had really thought we were not going to make it. I felt bad that I ever doubted Kage. He had always gotten me out of sticky situations before.

"That was close, huh," I asked him as I looked in his direction.

My face went pale when I saw nothing. I looked around the room in alarm, hoping to find that the black kitsune had just hid himself in a shadowy corner.

But he was no where to be found.

* * *

_1) A living vegetable is a person who is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). This is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom the coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. Patients with PVS are usually considered to be unconscious and unaware of their surrounding. They cannot respond to external stimuli (though some have responded to pain). They may experience sleep-wake cycles or be in a state of chronic wakefulness. They can exhibit such behaviours that arise from partial consciousness, such as grinding their teeth, grunting, moaning, screaming, or humming. Most patients emerge from a state of vegetation after a few weeks… but some, like Ai, do not. PVS is also called cortical death and is constantly confused with brain death – but they are not the same thing. _

_2) The monster Everyone received its nickname because, when the experiments with the Machine went wrong, the corpse would be added to the large snake. And since no one believed that the Guardians would ever turn out right, they believed that _every one _of the victims was going to be attached to it. _

Hi, everyone! Sorry that this chapter was so long and boring. I promise I'll try to do better on the next one. Speaking of the next one, it should be out before March 31st. I want to get it done before I go on holiday to the Keys. So be expecting that.

That's all I really got to say.

Until Next Time,

Kelsey


	60. Chapter 59

_To my readers,_

_Before this chapter begins, I would like to warn that, during Tails' point of view, some graphic (very graphic) things take place. And, unlike the last time I warned you about a rather gruesome part (Nekosa's death); this is actually important and must be read. Personally, I do not believe that it is _too _horrible, but my manager totally freaked out about it, so I've been asked to take some precaution (but she is a bit of a baby… maybe it was just her…) _

_So don't say I didn't warn you (if it is really that bad…) _

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 59

Ero's POV

When I peeked through the crack of the door, I did not like what I saw. It was everything Soran said it was: Rectangular in shape, massive in size; the Machine was indeed a fearsome sight. Flat, tainted metal reached towards dome ceilings. It roared and quavered as it when along its nasty work. Shrieking squeals were released from its series of stream pipes, sounding highly above the clashes of metal against metal. Decapitated bodies hung by hooks through their chests and from fat wires. One by one, they were dragged into the Machine's deep, uninviting mouth. The sound of snapping bones, inert moans, and screams mixed into the lethal lullaby, which rang even in the darkest corners of Hell. Black smoke swirled above the enormous mass of metal and blood, but was not thick enough to hide the purple tubes, held high by extending arms, that held the nine Watchers who were shriveled raisins with ultraviolet skin.

I tore my eyes away from the Machine, trying to focus my thoughts upon something else, but my sight landed on Soran, who was blocking the image from his view. It took me a moment, but I did remember what he had said before: _Anyone who rests eyes upon it is doomed to die_. I suddenly regretted being curious about its appearance. "We still have a chance," he suddenly told me. I looked to him in full attention. He knew this place, I did not. His rules went. He lowered his hands, breaking the wall that hid the dreadful sight. "If we can get past… that thing," (with 'thing' he pointed to the Machine), "without being seen, we could make a clean get-a-way." His voice was hollow indicating that the plan was not going to be easy.

My ears drooped. "Our chances of success aren't great, huh?" I knew his answer, but I still wanted a confirmation.

"Not large," he responded, "but still there." He glanced inside, but I could tell that he was directing his sights towards the ground, not to the Machine. "We must move quickly, quietly. We cannot afford confrontation."

And with that, our devious plan began. We snuck into the room, the place that could, and probably would, be the last area we would ever step into, with stealth and hid amongst the shadows cloaking ourselves in darkness. At first glance, it seemed abandoned, but as we led ourselves deeper into the room, I noted that several chameleons and even raptors were lurking in the cracks of the Machine and by the large bones littered about the floor. It was obvious that not many have treaded here. In some spots, the dirt was so soft that it imprinted footprints, something that we could not afford to have.

As we continued to move towards our goal (or, at least, we believed would take us out of this place, anyway), I became more comfortable. The steam that sometimes hit my face, the blood pools I had to avoid, and the large bones I had to jump over were not pleasant, but constant, watchful eyes were not always on the Machine – a factor I swore would be strict and true. I was so thankfully that, at one point, I expressed it aloud and received a nod from Soran, who, in the first time in a while, grinned. But, then, we were almost caught by a raptor, so we silently decided that speaking was no longer allowed.

My heart leaped when I spotted a door relatively close to our location. I nudged Soran, whose attention was elsewhere, and whispered, "Do you know where that door leads?"

He shook his head. "I do not know where any of these go. If any of the patients came in here, we are always blindfolded. Even the Messengers are compassionate enough to keep us from looking upon_ that_ wretched thing."

It felt like a rock dropped in my gut. Did he have to continue reminding me of the fact that anyone who supposedly looked upon the Machine _dies? _I tried to push it out of my mind. "Is it worth trying?" I hoped it was. Once we were clear of this room, this mark on my arm would no longer be a bother and our chance of survival would be instantly increased. It would make my day – no, my year. No, my _life._

"Do we have a choice?" he replied.

I thought we did, but really we did not. If we snuck around here too longer, no matter how discreet, we would be found. So, though we were not entirely confident, we made our way over to the door. The cougar slipped his tail out into the light and wrapped it around the rusted handle. I cringed when the knob creaked from the pressure Soran had to apply. He quickly retracted his tail, and we waited in darkness. I knew that we were going to be found. If the door was in as bad of shape as I thought, something was going to notice. From the expression on his face, Soran knew too. He stretched himself out against the wall. "Listen very carefully," he whispered while closely his eyes. "Once I get that door open, we have to run, regardless of whether we are seen or not. If we only attract the attention of a few chameleons or raptors, we will be able to lead them down the hallway before dealing with them. They are not intelligent enough to report of the mark… so getting into a crossfire with them will not be lethal. However, we do not want draw too much attention to ourselves… or the Executioners might become interested."

"If you've never seen the Executioners before," I said lowly, "then how would you know all of this?" I did not want to start an argument, especially since we were in enemy territory; but, if it involved my life, I was going to debate every word.

His eyes snapped open. Piercing blue stared into green. "I never said I have not seen them before," he told me slowly. "Do not take words out of context."

Before I could apologize (or argue further, I was not sure), Soran cocked his gun, and, in one swift motion, gripped the door once more with his tail and swung it open. I pushed myself upon my feet and snapped my fingers, my axe falling into my grasp. I looked back to find that thousands of eyes were upon us as we skidded through the door. Chameleons covered the Machine and molded themselves from the floor. I grabbed the handle to close the door, but ran straight into Soran before I could seal the gateway between us and the Machine.

My temper flowed over its boiling point. "What are you doing? We have to –!" I quickly fell silent once I saw the sight before us. There was no hallway – only a besmirched room. Dried blood and dirt coated the dull, stone walls. The smell of decomposition and waste filled my nostrils, causing me to choke. Bones were stacked like clubs by corners and organs were nailed to the walls like trophies. It was empty except for a dark brown, metal table which was planted in the centre. Four bloody cuffs, connected to weary chains, hung slightly from its surface.

But I could not help noticed that a severed arm with the mark wrapped around it was locked into one of them.

"Go! Run!" Soran shouted after he regained himself. We tried to escape from the room without notice, but it was too late…

From a black puddle on the floor rose one of the most fearsome creatures I had ever seen. It was cloaked in midnight, making its large, white (and slightly yellow) claws, as long as my body, contrast so greatly that they were almost impossible to miss. It hovered eerily above the ground while deep, blood red eyes stared straight into my frozen soul. And, to my dismay, another one arose on the table's other side.

For a moment, we stood in silence. We did not dare shift in any way. I prayed that they could only see movement; but, as I glanced down at the mark on my forearm, I knew that they were staring at it too. Soran and I were dead men.

There was only one word to sum the situation up: "Fuck."

With earsplitting screams (and maybe a few of the cougar's and mine mixed in between), the Executioners flexed their mighty claws and threw themselves towards us with death on their minds. A single shot from Soran's gun sounded as a bullet barreled towards one of the large creatures, but missed. That's when we decided that our intrusion was definitely a mistake. "Great job on the choice of doors, Sherlock!" Soran screamed at me while we burst through the creaky metal door and back into the Machine's corridors.

"What are you talking about?" I yelled back. I planted my back against the door as an attempt to seal the Executioners inside. "You were the one that said we didn't have a choice!" I had not noticed that long claws and hands had squeezed through the cracks of the door because of my yelling, so Soran had to rip me away from them before they sliced off my head.

We tumbled into a mass of chameleons and raptors. I sliced a few of them, but their numbers were too large to deal with while trying to escape from a much more serious threat. So, though I had not performed it in awhile, I called forth magic that would wipe out the greatest amount of casualties. With a muttered word in French(1) and a quick swish of the hand, a light green barrier encased the cougar and me, and then proceeded to move outwards at an alarming rate, killing every living thing except for the Executioners who simply repelled it. This was a really bad day.

I was barely able to dodge a blue vine that suddenly shot from an Executioner's mouth. One of the countless shrunken heads, which were somehow alive on the branch, dragged its teeth against my shoulder but was unable to grasp my skin. "An idea would be greatly appreciated, Soran," I shouted as I brought my axe down through a branch.

He did not answer.

I jumped up to avoid yet another vine, but something brought me down. I looked on my back to find that the water pump was still latched to me. For a moment, I felt sheepish. How could I have forgotten that? I unattached the nozzle from the pack and whipped it around so that it faced the Executioners who were unaware of their fate. I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. _Of course nothing happened, _I growled, _this is _my _life! _I pulled again; still nothing. "Someone hates me," I said aloud. "Someone really hates me."

Before I could react, an Executioner positioned itself behind me. I whipped around, wanting to bring my axe across its neck, but its claws were strong enough to repel the blade. I fell on my back causing a crack of my spine. My finger accidentally pulled down on the trigger of the nozzle because of my body's reaction to the pain, but this time some water flung itself into the air (though it was no where close to how much should have come out).

The scream of the Executioner rang through the room.

It had been able to block the substance from coming in contact with any vital points of its body, but the long claws on its right arm were melting. I aimed the nozzle at it, hoping to hit it during its moment of weakness, but it stopped working once more.

The cougar pulled me up by the collar of my cloak. "We have to go!" Soran told me. Just as a tentacle of the unharmed Executioner was going to land in between us, we headed to a door that was closest to our location. "Let's hope this is not another room."

I did not only hope, I prayed.

He swung open the door and yelped with joy at the sight. A hallway! We wasted no time. We raced down the path not worrying about closing the door behind us. The Executioners were going to open it if we did anyway, and we needed every head start we could have. Branches full of the chanting, biting heads penetrated the walls around us. I was able to fend some of the larger ones off with magic and with the water pump, but they were too numerous. I could clear them if I could stop to perform a stronger spell, but then we would be face-to-face with the Executioners again, and that could be deadly.

We weaved down the hallways avoiding any interference we could. A dead end could not be dealt with, though, and would be the death of us. At one point Soran had said that he knew where he was, but quickly retracted his statement after further consideration. The monsters continued gaining speed, and the vines were growing more frequent by the minute. If we did not find something useful, we were going to get trapped – dead end or not.

We skidded left into yet another hallway but froze. Five cloaked figures stood before us. They did not appear to be legions of Keita, but I was not going to think they were our side until I received proof. "It's alright, Ero, we're fine," Soran told me with a grin. "They are ---."

Just when he was going to inform me of good news, a vine hit me in the back of the head and I was knocked into darkness.

* * *

Amy's POV

"Kage," I breathed. I scanned the room slowly, hoping to locate him, but, just as before, he was not present. My chest heaved, my mind swirled, and, for a moment, I swore my heart stopped. My stomach knotted, and I was suddenly hit with the unpleasant feeling of nausea. The truth began to sink in despite my efforts to deny it. He was gone… and I was alone. I covered my mouth while trying to hold back a throaty sob. Tears began to brim my eyes. Dozens of thoughts crossed my mind, battling each other in importance, but they all lead to a central question: How could I have let this happen?

I pushed my back onto cool metal and buried my face into my hands. _Kage is gone_, I told myself, _and I'm left alone with only this no-good hammer to protect me! _I raised my head to the ceiling and rubbed the tears away from my eyes. The light from above, when I moved my fingers, glared at me, almost laughed at me. I took in a deep breath but choked on it, so I had to release it haggardly out. After that, my breaths became short.

I slipped onto the floor with an exhausted sigh. I wrapped my arms around my knees and held myself there, burying my face into the hem of my dress. I stayed that way for who knows how long. I attempted to compose myself several times, but each time I reminded myself that I was alone, images of my death would appear before my eyes and tears would begin to flow as freely as before. They were deaths I could not imagine, could not create… How did they bury themselves into my mind… into my thoughts?

After a while, though, I did begin to collect myself. It was over time, but during its course, things started to piece together and intelligent thinking began. _Okay_, I thought to myself between sniffs, _lets review what happened_… I was warned of the possibility that I was going to break out into sobs again, but I decided that I was just going to have to deal with it. I began: _We ran into Everyone. Despite our efforts, Everyone caught us. Instead of giving up, Kage came up with the crazy idea of waiting for Keita to come. Thank God it was not Keita, though._ I thought for a moment._ Or was it? _I did not want to find out the answer. I continued: _We ran, we got away (for the most part), but then we came to a cliff. We jumped, landed, and we found this room. The monster, though, caught up to us and Kage told me to get inside the door. _I sighed. I really should not have left him. _And then, I thought he came in… but he didn't. _It took me a moment, but suddenly fear grasped me. What _did_ enter the room?

I slowly peered over my knee caps and into the room full of large crates and barrels, which cast obscure shadows across the floors and walls. It was a perfect place to hide – especially for _his _legions. I sat perfectly still, eyes wide, staring into the dozens and dozens of shadows. I did not know if the black object, which had thrown itself in the room, was an illusion or a solid, dangerous creature. I reached for my hammer but then froze. I waited. Nothing came. Quickly, I grasped the handle of my weapon and jumped upon my feet, positioning myself into guard(2). My breath was hollow, deep. I pointed my hammer towards the supplies in expectation. For the first time, I felt as though I was completely ready for an onslaught.

But nothing ever did appear. I stayed in that position for several minutes hoping that, if the monster was there, it would get impatient while hiding and attack, but there was not even a creak to suggest one was actually there. I lowered my weapon and gave out a sigh of relief. For the first time in a long time, I was happy something was just a fragment of my imagination.

My thoughts instantly focused back upon Kage. It was obvious that I had to search for him even if the road would be perilous. But where would I begin? He and I had been wandering for a tedious hour down paths that only led to dead ends, and we must have only covered one-eighth of the mine!

Keita; he would be with Keita. But where was Keita?

I glanced at the door. I would never know until I left this room. And, to tell the truth, I was deathly afraid to. I knew that there was no longer a fight occurring, but there was a chance that monster could be waiting for me; and, even if it was not, such terrors would await me that staying in the security of a storage room sounded ideal. But I took in a deep breath, gathered my courage, and pushed open the door. As it fell open, I swung my hammer across the path to clear away anything that stood between me and my path.

Only a deserted hallway alit by flaming torches met me. There were no holes, blood, or corpses to signify that a fight even occurred here. I lowered my hammer, dumbfounded. How could the monster have cleaned itself up so quickly? Quietly, I stepped outside onto stone. My grasp tightened on my weapon. I moved into the hallway slowly taking one step at a time. Still nothing. I dropped my guard, though only slightly, and continued on at a faster pace – it too only increased vaguely. I looked back several times, back to the storage room, and, each time I did, it looked more inviting. I felt better when it fell out of sight, but still the lingering thought of running back to it was there.

As I turned the corner, I jumped as a lone, hollow scream echoed before me. I turned my heels to race back to my haven but stopped. What if it was Kage? I could not just leave him again. I did not take a moment to consider my options. Racing down the hallway, hammer prepared, I followed the voice of the screamer, who was beginning to sound off constantly.

I found myself in large, open space by the cliff that, only minutes ago, I had jumped off. Glancing around, I found myself at a loss. The screams continued to ricochet, but since the room was so big, I could not select its location. For all I knew, it could even be coming from the height of the cliff, and I was in no position to climb. There was only one other path I could try. It was worth a shot.

I flew down the hall meeting up with a door, which, unlike the others, was broken. It was bent, mostly unhinged, and was tainted with rust. It was half way open but closed enough to keep what it contained inside hidden. I knew that I should have thought, should have listened to my conscience, but Kage – what if it was Kage?

Blindly, I swung open the beaten door, which revealed cells with bars that were as rusted as the metal that my fingers now gripped. The walls were dirty with blood and waste, and the room smelt of decomposition. But the victim did not care about my disgust; he just kept on screaming. And then, suddenly, he was silenced. Did Keita know I was here? I would not be surprised if he did. Not only did the door creak when I pushed it open, but he also had the uncanny ability to sense a person's presence. I gulped. This could easily be the end of me. But Everyone and that monster could have brought my death, too. I stepped deeper into the room. If this meant finding Kage, despite the risks, it was worth it.

A haggard cough, a low sneer. I took another step. Only three were alive in here. I took another, and the figures began to come into view. The first, a dog, lied crippled on the ground surrounded in his own blood. His chest was ripped open, showing bloody, yellow bones, and his neck was twisted so far that he should not have been even alive. He wore a cloak, just like the second figure, but his was torn, destroyed. He let out his last worn breath, and his head fell limp to the floor.

I looked towards the second figure, hood covering its face and cloak covering its body, and quickly second-guessed my decision of walking into this room. It was hunched over the body of the dog and, with a low chuckle, scooped up his heart and threw it to the wall. I gasped and accidentally gave my position away. The figure looked up at me with yellow, fearsome eyes.

One thing was for sure: Kage was not here. My plan of action? Run!

I whipped around, wasting no time, and headed to the door which now seemed so far away. I heard a clash of metal behind me and, before I could react, a body threw itself upon me and knocked me to the floor. I yelped, struggled, and even tried to swivel around to smack the figure across the face with my hammer, but the creature knew what it was doing. It grabbed my hair and yanked it pulling me into submission. The pain that echoed from my head and my ankle, which the figure's knee was crushing, distracted my entire thought process, and, soon, I was becoming more erotic. Through teary eyes, I saw the door… and then… a shadow.

"Kage?" I wondered softly, a sound barely emerging from my throat.

I did not receive an answer – a response that I now was prone to. The silhouette at the door launched itself into the air, knocking straight into my oppressor. Quickly, I rolled over and flipped onto my feet to either see the fight or run; which one, I was not exactly sure. I froze, though, when I saw my saviour wrap a bloody spine around the enemy's neck and snapped it. His corpse fell to the ground joining the one of the dog.

The cloaked figure stood up while unwrapping his weapon from the body's twisted neck. He looked at me with masked eyes, not saying a word. He stood at an extreme height, and his right hand, which was grasping the spine, was mechanical. I was immediately intimidated. It was definitely not Kage. "Thank you," I said quietly despite my fear. I was not expecting a patient to save me.

He lowered his hood. He was a black panther with one of the sternest faces I have even seen. His right ear was mechanical, as was his left eye. I looked down at the floor. I did not want to be accused of staring or else that spine might be around _my _neck.

"Kier," he said to me in a low voice. "Tell me what you know about Kier."

* * *

Tails' POV

It was not a pleasant feeling when you slip a sword through someone's body – physically or mentally. A large amount of force had to be exerted to allow the blade to slice through bone and muscle and, after a while, your own muscles would tighten and bones start to ache. The mental aspect, though, might be worse. Subconsciously, you begin to rack up the numbers you have killed, the ways you had killed them, and you even start to allow yourself to cope by calling it a 'game'.

Yes, the brain always seems to overcome the body.

I shook my hand rapidly to expel the vexing tingling. It quickly became apparent that grasping onto the handle of a sword too tightly was bad for the joints. I looked upon the bodies which were littered the hallway. Most of them did not meet their end by my blade (or gun), thankfully, but most of the Guardians and raptors did. I ran my hand through my hair which had lingering drops of black blood. I wiped them off on my cloak, only to note that black and red finger smears ran in arbitrary patterns across its length. Blood from my sword dripped onto my shoe and I could feel the liquid settling into one of my black gloves (or was it sweat?). "This job is a mess," I said aloud to no one in particular. Job… job… this was a _job _now? _What else could it be? _I asked myself. I shrugged internally. I had a point.

My ears perked up to catch the noise of the Machine. I growled lowly when it arrived to me that it sounded further away. Was I ever going to find my way? "Meep," I called while looking to the Chao, who was scavenging around one of the rotting bodies.

For a moment, it appeared as though he was ignoring me. But, after he recovered an object, he cried, "Look what Meep find," with enthusiasm. He flipped into the air and zoomed over to me… only to show me a rather disgruntled tooth.

I was expecting to find myself disgusted, but instead was only bewildered. I did not see what was so important about the tooth, though it was quite interesting. The enamel and roots were caked with a thick, white substance. From the sharp cracks that covered it, I could tell that it was fragile to the touch. My thoughts immediately rested on dehydration. The Chao flipped his palm over and released the tooth, confirming my suspicion. It shattered upon impact.

I waited for some sort of explanation on its importance, but I did not expect to receive one. Meep was one for the random things in life. But, as intelligently as he could, he informed me, "Tooth no water. Everyone."

I cocked an eyebrow, interested. "Excuse me? Do you mean dehydrated?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Everyone drink fluids, no eat. Look, life sucked out of peoples. Everyone been 'ere."

I was not sure of exactly who 'Everyone' was, but it was true that corpses were dehydrated. Their skin was film, their cheeks hollow, and their tongues swollen – most did not even have severe enough injuries to think otherwise. "Everyone drink a lot 'ere mean this path," Meep explained. "Meep and Tail follow – find Machine or Keita!"

"So this Everyone has a set path?" I asked. I could not help but wonder how the Chao knew this. He did not seem to be one to observe, but obviously he knew this – if it was, of course, accurate He has said things that ended up being false. "So if we could make sure to stay on this path…" I said, trying to get his explanation correct.

"Machine or Keita!" He said with a nod.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere," I said to myself. I looked down the hallway, which was lined with hundreds of bodies which had the same condition. There was no harm in at least trailing the bodies to see if it led us somewhere. It was better than endlessly wandering, as we have been doing since we were brought here. If it did not lead us to it (or to _him_), then we would just have to retrace our steps and start over again. There was no harm in that, or, I did not think there was, anyway.

I nodded my head towards right to signal Meep that we would be heading in that direction. He zipped down the path while making airplane noises. I rolled my eyes. Has he ever even seen an airplane? Who knows what he was trying to be.

We continued down hallways, following Everyone's trial of bodies, but instead of taking us to any direct area, it led us down weaving pathways and through metal rooms. I began to doubt the plan, just like the others we had. I was frightful we was going to come into contact of the Guardians, or, even worse, that large snake-like creature once more. I would not be able to pull of the same spectacular escape twice. It was during this time, though, that my fatigue really began to settle in. The strain on my muscles and the ache that covered my bones showed their true colours, and my eyes began to droop. Sleep actually entered my mind a few times, but it was too dangerous to take a nap in here. I shook my head several times, trying to snap myself out of the lethargy, but I only seemed to grow more and more tired.

_Miles, _a voice hissed suddenly, beckoning me. I winced as a sudden chill fell over me. I had not been expecting Keita to pay me a visit. I shook him out of my head, wanting to ignore him, but again he called my name. I felt him slink deeper into my mind, into my thoughts, and I had to listen. _Why will you not just accept it, _he asked me, _when it is the only truth. _Hot breath filled my ear. _Is it because you cannot understand? _Unseen hands rested themselves upon my shoulders, halting my movement. _Here, I'll help you…_

_Imagine there are no imperfect people, _he cooed softly, whispering, secretly,_ it is easy if you try._ _Imagine there's not heaven; above us only sky. Imagine there are no countries. It is not hard to do. Imagine there are no worries. No religion, too…_The hands ran down my arms. I closed my eyes, too tired to fight back. A chuckle arose. _You may say I'm a dreamer… but I'm not the only one. So stop all your nonsense, so that we can become one… _

My eyes snapped open and, with force, I took control of my body. I stepped forward away from his invincible grasp. "Your dreamworld will not be perfect," I told him loudly. Without thinking, I added, "Because you would be in it."

A sharp hiss echoed down the hallway._ Fine, _he said with a low growl, _I shall show what happens to those who reject me._ The torches flickered, then blew out, leaving me in darkness.Hands braced themselves, breaking into my skull and raking their claws through the rivets of my brain. I screamed, holding my head, trying to shake off the pain that coursed through my body, trying to free myself of his hands. I closed my eyes willing myself further to gain control of my head. But he was winning. He always had his victory. Could I not have my own? No, not here, not in his territory.

_I opened my eyes, expecting to only see darkness, but instead my path was lit by fire that was leaking from the creaks of a metal door. My vision, though, was flawed. The image before me went in and out of focus, but it was always blurred, no matter how clear it seemed. High-pitched, tortured screams echoed, ringing loudly in my ears. I tried to ignore them, but one particular one, though mellowed by the countless others that overpowered it, caught my attention._

_Amy. _

_I did not take a moment to consider my options. I raced towards the door disregarding the flames that sprung from it. I called her, but there was no answer. No matter how fast, or how far, I ran, though, the door only seemed to get further away. But the screams grew louder, wilder, scarier. Unexpectedly, the door flew towards me. The fire surrounded me, drawing me in. I placed my hand on the handle and threw open the door despite the burn that radiated in my palm, through my fingers, up my arm. The shrieks were instantly quenched. The only sound now was the crackling and the roars of the fire. _

_It was my bedroom. Darkness dwelled, flames were abound, and shadows of monsters danced upon my walls. I spotted her in the corner. She stood, face-turned, staring into nothingness. She was dressed in black. I called to her, screamed for her, but she could not hear me. I attempted to retrieve her, but flames blocked my way. _

_Slowly, she turned her head, finally acknowledging my presence. I filled with joy but then with fear and dread. Her head continued to swivel, bordering unnatural and revealing pale white eyes and a bone chilling, teeth-filled grin. She hit the one-eighty degree looking upon me with unseeing eyes. _

_The fire extinguished itself. I was left in darkness. I heard a drop and then another. Another… another… another. I was in the middle of Darkness itself. Suddenly, a lone light flickered on, and a cloaked figure stood before me. The room was brown, worn, and discarded. Bodies hung off the walls. Organs and bones littered the floor. My vision wavered. The figure, now Keita, launched himself towards me, eyes lit, canines bared, blood spattering. I screamed, and, in instinct, took the sword, which had suddenly appeared in my hand, and took of his head. _

_His body fell limp to the ground, and his head rolled a few feet away. I stood panting. I closed my eyes, catching my breath, and then opened them, only to find Amy's body and head at my feet. _

_With bloodshot eyes staring into my own, she screeched, "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM," in a voice that was not her own._

_The light flickered, erasing then creating never-ending white. The body, now belonging to Keita, dragged itself across the floor, dirtied with its blood, over to its head. I could only watched in awed horror as it grasped a hold of it, stood itself upon its feet, and, with a sordid crunch, began to twist its head back on, a grin upon its features during the entire process. _

_The floor came out from beneath my feet. I fell, with a crack, onto my back staring up into the white abyss. I struggled to push myself up, but my limbs refused to respond. I could only think of one thing: Keita. _

_He was over me, touching me, breathing into my ear. In a strangled, mutilated, and mocking voice he whispered, _Go back to sleep.

_I was dropped. Through the floor, through space, through Hell. I landed in a pool of blood. I sat up coughing and wheezing for air. A hallway. Blood knee-high flooded the place that, otherwise, would be completely clean. I wandered down the path searching. Drips of blood blinded me as well as my need to survive. I hardly cared that I was treading through the substance; I just wanted out. I reached the end of the hallway only to find a pair of stairs leading down into a lake of blood. A force pulled on my heart and dragged me into darkness._

_A fuzzy flash. A new scene. Bodies everywhere. Chained to cuffs that's ropes went down forever. Most were skeletons, others flesh. Their eyes were craved out, their tongues cut off. They all flooded in the endless bounds of blood, which I floated in, too. _

_Amy. Sonic. Ero. Knuckles. Big. Nekosa. Soran. Meep. Rouge. Faron. Joruri. Nichole. Shadow – All of them were there. Eye sockets staring, mouths open wide. Dead. It was certain they were dead. But then, to my horror, the came to life. Snapping, screaming, grabbing. They tried to bring me down. I swam away, but no success, because a cuff snapped onto my ankle. I struggled; I tried to slice it in half. The screams increased each time I hit the chain. Lightheaded. Losing my mind._

_A voice screams my name. I see the light. The blood spins. I lose my sight._

I opened my eyes and instantly threw up blood. The room spun and my vision faded in and out. I shook my head. What happened? I looked down to find a heart in my hands. I dropped it, but, instead of falling to the floor, it fell into the opening of a chest. And there I stood above Rouge, a freakish look on her screaming face, and around my neck was what I would soon find was the intestines of Knuckles. (3)

* * *

_1) Ero does not know French, but a lot of the spiritualist spells are either in French or Latin. The origins of the French roots are unknown, but the Latin was used because of its ancient heritage… or something. _

_2) The guard position (not to be confused with the Judo guard/grappling position) for most longer weapons, including swords (not including fencing – that is an entirely different sport), bo (long stick made of wood or bamboo), and perhaps hammers even, has the feet shaped as an L. The right foot, your lead foot (no matter if you are left or right handed!), is direct with your leading shoulder and facing forward towards your enemy while the left foot, your support foot, is directly below your receding shoulder and is facing towards your left. Most movies and video games depict this incorrectly._

_3) Okay, time to explain the hallucination because I'm sure you all are probably questioning my sanity at the moment. Okay, so, at the beginning, Tails finds himself in front of a door. Now, though the door seemed on fire, it probably wasn't. Also, the screams were probably not real. But, the door easily could have been. When he opened the door (or he turned a corner) he meets up with Rouge and Knuckles. Though no one can be sure, it could be assumed that the two were _not _in Keita's possession. Since Tails was acting strange, Knuckles (we can be sure it was Knuckles because of further evidence) went over to him and tried to calm him down. In the hallucination, this was Keita, so Tails chopped him in half (probably in the waist, not the head, because of the fact that his intestines were around his neck). Then, when Amy started screaming at him, it was actually Rouge, who tells him "Look what you've done! You kill him! You kill him!" which, instead of talking about Keita, it was really about Knuckles. After this, Rouge probably tried to run away. Tails was taken to a hallway knee-full in blood (probably representing Knuckles'). He followed the hallway, which, in reality, was following Rouge. Then, when he was in blood pool with the bodies, they were probably representing Rouge trying to fight back. When he is chained, he starts hacking at the cuff that was on his foot. This was probably Rouge's chest. Finally, he breaks the cuff open (ripping open Rouge's chest). Then, he woke up. So, yeah, pretty messed up. Dang, now you are probably questioning my sanity if you weren't before. _

Let the flames begin! (Evil author laughter)

Off to marvel at Kingdom Hearts II(which actually comes out tomorrow, but I can dream!),

Kelsey


	61. Chapter 60

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 60

Ero's POV

I woke up to the feel a pointed stick being poked into my side. With difficulty and an astounding amount of pain, I was able to inch myself away, but I did not dare open my eyes. I did not know where I was, and, until I did, I did not want to arouse any suspicion that I was awake. Moving, though, might have been a mistake… People move while they are unconscious, right? I hope they did.

The stick slammed into my side again. I had the urge to grab it, snap it in half, and even perhaps hammer it into the person's heart, but I had to keep cover. But I was slowly losing my patience.

A grunt sounded. I flinched but barely. It was not exactly pleasant. Then a loud, high-pitched squeal sounded (it had to be from another individual, for I do not think the first one could have gotten up so high) and someone bombarded my side with several fast jabs from the stick. I feared that they could possible be of Keita's legion, but I highly doubted that he taught them to taunt their victims with sticks. So the next time I felt the wood poke me (it almost pierced me), I swiftly sat up and, when I rapped my hand around the stick, broke it in half.

Despite my reasoning, I was still afraid that I was going to meet with the red eyes of _his _minions, but instead I stared at a grayish brown chimp, whose brown eye (the other was missing) was as wide as a saucer. It took him a moment to realise exactly what had happened, but the effect of the scare caused him to scream and flee. I discarded the stick as I watched him scurry under a bed (which looked more like a board than anything).

I wanted to get up, but the quick movement reminded me that I had received a blow earlier to the back of the head. I moved my hand across it hoping to get an idea of the damage. I hissed in pain when I felt the large bump that bulged out of my fur.

I looked in the other direction in search of Soran, but instead came face to face with a scarred grizzly. I jumped slightly as I looked into his dull, emotionless eyes and more so at his size. I waited for him to respond. He huffed, blowing air onto my face. I could not help but notice the large, open wound that covered the bridge of his muzzle and stretched to his forehead. He glanced away, but only for a moment, as he grabbed a mangled, bloody object from the floor. "Cow's liver," he told me, his voice void of emotion. "Eat."

"Um…" I replied, hesitating. I looked down at the organ, which, in my mind, looked like it was still working. Throwing up sounded like an ideal reaction. I wanted to pick out my words carefully, but it came out as a muffled, "Thanks, but…"

He narrowed his eyes and then thrust the liver into my face. "Eat," he said again, this time sterner.

"All-Alrighty then," I stuttered. I could not remove my eyes from the bloody organ. I lifted my hands, which seemed dead, and let myself take it from him. Maybe I could discard it while he was not looking, but it seemed like he was not going anywhere anytime soon. Squeezing my eyes shut, I was able to bring it up to my mouth, but I froze after that. I looked quickly to the grizzly. "Are you sure _you _don't want this?"

The bear grumbled something in anger. Before anything could happen, mostly me getting hurt, I took a bite out of it. I swallowed it whole, afraid to chew. Despite the sudden feeling of nausea, I grinned at him. I could feel the blood sticking to my teeth. "Good!" I lied. Watching the gunk flow out of it and onto the floor was not exactly pleasant.

He was content, but he did not leave my side. I did not get very far on the liver during those long, passing minutes. Bracing myself enough to take another bite was not an easy task. The smell and presence of the dazed grizzly did not help either. I did find an actual bright side to eating it though: if I needed to vomit, I would at least have something in my stomach to reject.

I set my thoughts on other things. Where was I anyway? The only thing I could make of this place was it was some type of living space, but how I had ended up in it was a mystery. Also, there was no Soran, which actually scared me. I looked over to the grizzly. "Soran," I said. "Do you know where he is?"

Before he could answer, I heard the cougar sing, "Sorry, dear Ero, but I'm working! But knowing that you want me inspires me the more!"

How I hate him; hate him with a fiery passion!

I stood up with a huff. It took me a few moments to gain my balance (and I had to resist the urge to throw the liver back at the grizzly and run), but I was able to stagger across the long room towards Soran's voice. To my disappointment (and fear), I was followed by the bear, but he kept his distance. The chimp slid out from underneath the board and scampered across the room, watching me, but keeping his distance. I distracted myself by concentrating on where I was.

The room was lit by a single light that dangled from the ceiling and continuously flickered, making me dizzy. There were several beds made of long, uncomfortable boards and supported by jagged rocks. Bones were piled at the foot of the beds; some reached to the ceiling. Bloody handprints and bleeding words covered the walls. One particular picture showed a large, thousand-eyed serpent with hundreds of legs and a rather long tongue; another showed bodies that were hung by their heads and feet by chains; yet another pictured an Executioner. It was a mess, but the long claws and the flowing cloak fit the creature's features perfectly. I heard the grizzly growl behind me. It was not a liked picture. I continued on, dragging my hand across the wall. A few times I caught fresh blood, which I would constantly apologize for.

I saw a few of the other prisoners as we continued on. They, though it mostly was a particular terrier, stared at me with interested but also with… hunger. It reminded me of what Shikyo – Keita – said to me during our second encounter: how he was going to make me into rabbit stew. I did not see a pot to throw me in, thankfully, but after being handed a cow liver, I knew that I did not need to be cooked to be eaten. I shivered.

Some of the other prisoners hid from me. They looked like ghosts with their hollow frames, slender bodies, and pale faces. It must not be normal to see a newcomer, at least not anymore. The barracks were almost empty except for the few souls. The rest must have been fed to the Machine.

A picture caught my attention. The blood used was thick, almost black. I sank down on my knees for a better look. It was not well drawn; for a moment it resembled a detailed blob I tilted my head to the correct angle. It surprised me to say the least. It was Kage. I traced my hand over the painting. Had the prisoners really known who he was?

"The shadow," the chimp shrilled. He climbed hurriedly over me (hitting my throbbing head in the process) and planted himself close enough to the picture to swat my hand off of it. "The black ghost! Haunted! _Haunted!"_ He pointed at me, almost scolding me for taking the time to examine the picture.

I gave a glance back to the grizzly, who seemed to agree, and then returned to the energized monkey. "Kage? Haunted?" I asked with a slight, nervous laugh. "You must be kidding." I was sure that, unless possessed, Kage would not walk through the cells killing prisoners for no reason. The Executioners seemed more of a threatening ghost than him. Wait, why was Kage a ghost?

"Few see!" The monkey told, not making sense. He got close up to my face, his eye rolled almost completely back as he tried to look at the picture while speaking to me, and said in a frantic, high-pitched whisper. "Few see the shadow." He looked paranoid as he scanned the room several times as if awaiting something to come out of the wall. He leaned in closer. "The ghost… is… of the Master. Is the Master's shadow. Yes, yes, _shadow. _A cursed ghost!"

I tried to understand and to translate him aloud. "The… ghost is your Master's? And he's haunted?" I guessed that he was trying to tell me that Kage belonged to Keita, even though he clearly did not. When he did not answer, only continued to search the room with a fearful eye, I said, "Kage belongs to Keita?"

The monkey's eye grew wide. "Do not say the Master's name," he shrieked. _"Do not speak his name!" _For a moment, I swore he would attack me. I was more afraid of the large bear, though, who stepped closer to me with claws extended. "The ghost is of the Master," the chimp repeated. "The Master never mentioned, no. Never say the Master. Fifth commandment. Never let Master see, know. Anything of the Master kills; is holy, is death. If one sees the ghost, we _die."_

"That's enough," a voice said roughly. I looked up to see Soran, whose eyes were narrowed and mouth was curved in a twisted frown. The monkey instantly freaked upon seeing him and ran before he lost his chance to flee. I noticed that the bear had retreated. When did Soran gain such authority? A smile, though this one I knew was fake, developed on his face as he cheerfully said, "Do not worry about him. Ber here," (at this he gestured to the bear), "is the only trustful one. The rest just want you for dinner."

I wanted to say that Ber was about to jump me, but I found myself dumbly nodding. I was just happy the chimp left. "Where are we?" I asked as I stood on my feet.

"The Cells," the cougar responded. He motioned me onward as he walked back to where he had original been. I followed him, but not before taking a last look at the picture. Something bugged me, but I was not sure what it was. I quickly caught up to him. "We're safe here… for now," he informed me. He jumped onto one of the board beds, the only one that had a metal frame, picked up a rather sharp bone, and began to scrap it across the metal in a swift, almost violent motion.

I cocked an eyebrow. "May I ask what you're doing?"

"Ero," he chirped, grinning at me, "if there is one thing you must learn, it is this: always use your resources." He showed me the long bone, which was beginning, oddly, to become a blade. "When you scrap a bone against metal for a period of time, it becomes sharp. Large femur bones are especially useful for this. You can make a long enough blade and handle to use just like a sword!" He continued on.

I wanted to mention to him that he did have a gun, but I did not see it anywhere. There was a possibility that he left it with the Machine. That was around when I noticed the water pump was not on my back. "Where's the water pump?" I almost shouted. We needed water to kill things and that was our only source!

"It was crushed after you went unconscious." He did not even look at me, only at the bone. "The Executioners made sure that, if they found us again – and they will, I'm afraid – water was out of the game."

I stood for a moment in disbelief. This day was just becoming worse by every word that was said! I flopped down on the bed next to him. We could not stay in the Cells forever – we had to find Kage and the others. But how would we with two reapers chasing us? I voiced my question, "How will we avoid them?"

For a moment, it was silent. Finally, he replied, "We can't. The only option is death – either theirs or ours. I'd much rather the former, if you ask me." I did not know how he saw my blank stare, for he was busily crafting his weapon, but he must have because his eyes darkened, and he snapped. "Oh, do not be ignorant - you will not survive long, as the patients have proven. Something terrible is afoot. They should have been integrated with the entity that is Babylon. Their existence… once it is found out, will be extinguished. _Master _no longer wants or needs them." He wept behind hard eyes. "If we hurry, perhaps, and reach him before he finds out, we maybe could save them. But it's unlikely…"

I wanted to argue, to convince them that there was a way to save them, but he was right. Keita would be getting rid of them soon, and we could afford to be here for it. Maybe they, on their own, would escape; after all, according to Soran, they were already thought to be dead. It was an impossible ideal, but it made me feel better about leaving them. "When do we leave?"

He glanced up at me. "Now."

* * *

Tails' POV

A solid clap.

At first I did not hear it, but it then echoed through my ears. I refused to look away from Rouge and her horrified eyes. I could not even lessen my grip around her heart. I was barely breathing – it was like the intestine was choking me even though it hung loosely around my neck. I flinched at the next clap. Not caring who, or what, it was, I did not take my time to identify it. _I actually killed them… I actually killed them…Rouge and Knuckles… I actually…_This thought and nothing more. Thinking was a surprise. So people can think after a kill…

Another clap, another flinch. I really just wanted it to go away. Could it not see my distress? Could it not wait? I let out my first haggard breath. I had not breathed for what seemed like days. The heart rippled. I felt like screaming. Another clap. An urge to kill came. Anything to make it leave. It did not matter whether its blood was smeared all over the walls or its bones laid rattled in a heap of dead fur; it just had to go away. I had to bury them. It had to go away.

Yet another clap, slow and loud. It rattled my brain.

"I must say, Miles, you _really_ ripped them apart," a voice said amused. Another couple claps, faster and sloppier. "And to think, you killed them in bliss! I am extremelyproud of you. You've come such a long way." Weight slammed down on earth. "Oh, but I'm a _compassionate_ person, so I will remove them for you."

With a snap, her body began to disappear along with the heart and the intestine. I tried to gather up the ashes, but they were blown into the air, scattered everywhere and, once landed, molded into the interior. With their bodies gone, my soul was able to discard a part of my turmoil, but some of the dust fused into my cloak and my skin, burning me. I suddenly felt dirty. I tried to shake it off with haste, but no prevail.

"It is not coming off," I was told. "Consider it… a gift. Master is not always so considerate, you know."

I stood up while tightening my hold on my gun and my sword. I had been hoping for an ally, but the first words that came out of his mouth gave him away. Killing him was my only option; Keita was on the top of my list and, if anyone got in the way, they were going to be removed – permanently. I lowered my weapons, however, once I saw him: Sonic the Hedgehog.

He stood before me in cloak and all. His robes were black, but the stains of blood could still be seen. Emerald eyes were now deep, blood-shot olive and his fur, once noticeably blue, was now a dark bluish purple. Tuffs of it were pulled out, particularly around his head where there were metal contraptions. It was indeed a horrible sight – he looked much worse than he did just a few hours ago.

"Would you really hurt a friend?" he asked smoothly, almost mockingly. "Wait, you just killed two of them – I might want to watch out, hmm?"

Oh, how Keita loved to fuck with my head.

I growled and said my warning, "It would be in your best interest to leave," but it was the exact opposite of what I felt. I was paralyzed, confused: Had I stopped caring about my friends for this long? How could I have forgotten them? It was not until I woke up from the hallucination that I really remembered what they were like. Not even the death of Big or the first appearance of Sonic had triggered that. Shadow's presence at Descentmet had struck hard, but after he tried to kill me, I lost respect for my past colleagues. How? How could I have? My mind was breaking down during the seconds that I said my first words. They had to have been slurred. I shook myself out of it and put logic, though not very reasonable, into my head. _Sonic is no longer Sonic. I cannot leave to avenge them until I somehow get rid of him… And I highly doubt Keita will let me just knock him unconscious. _

Sonic's voice brought me back to reality. "How… fast can you fly, Miles?" he asked while he carefully observed his claws which were unnaturally long. He gave me a second to reply (and if I was in the right mind I would have been able to response with the exact answer), but then continued, "Fast enough to at least somewhat keep up with the speed of sound, obviously…" His attention subsided so his eyesight was directly on me as he moved a step forward. "But, you were always _following_, weren't you? Following me? Doesn't that make you angry? That I set the pace, not you? You must have tired out easily."

"I don't know what you're trying to do, Keita," I said, speaking to the kitsune since I knew the hedgehog was not speaking for himself, "but it's not working." But the hallucination had worked. Yes. I was still shaking with fear and my head was still spinning from the experience. The scariest part was that I could still smell their blood… and I liked it. I did not want to think about it.

"Following is… a weak attribute," he explained. I could almost hear Keita's voice leaking out from his lips. "For, you see… you never get faster when you follow. You either catch up to your prey, or you always fall behind. It must have been… so devastating… to always fall behind, hm, Miles?"

I growled. The more I heard Keita's voice, the less I considered the body before me to be Sonic. "Get to your point."

He took his time. "The strong, however, when they have to follow… catch up with their prey and then," a hissing _snap _flung from his mouth of blood-stained teeth, "the prey… is… _dead." _

I then knew what Keita was implying. He no longer found me fun anymore. I had defied him too many times and the hallucination was only round one of my punishment. I was going to have to escape the clutches of Sonic the Hedgehog, the Blue Blur, the Fastest Thing Alive… and, knowing his natural determination combine with Keita's psychotic power, the only way to do that involved his death. My mind came up with this solution, but the rest of my body rejected it. Kill Sonic? Was I out of my mind? Maybe I was.

I grasped my weapons tighter than before. It would only be a matter of seconds before this sick game began.

"So," he asked, "who wants to play cat and mouse?" Before any sort of reply, verbal or not, could be made, he was racing towards me at an exceptional speed.

I barely dodged him. It was such a close call that he shredded the end of my cloak. I whipped around, cocking my gun and aiming it, but realized that I had to save my bullets for Keita. This was going to be much harder than I thought. I fired my shot, only because of the dangers of keeping a ready weapon. It was far too slow; Sonic was able to avoid it with ease. After his next flyby and my very narrow escape, I took flight. The room was not the greatest of sizes; it was quite small – but this worked for my advantage and my disadvantage. While it would keep Sonic from reaching maximum speed, it also restricted my airspace.

I leveled myself to the ceiling hoping that Keita forgot that Sonic could run up walls, but my wish was not granted. He zoomed up, almost stabbing straight into my heart, but I let myself fall and slam into the ground. I was not able to get up before his razor claws sliced into my back several times on his pass bys. I tried to recover myself, but before I was able to even get onto my hands and knees, he was yet again there, his claws pushing me into the ground. I had made a grave mistake; landing had not been the greatest idea. I was thankfully that my back had a thick layer of muscles, but the way he was tearing through me, they were not going to be there for long. I thought of rolling over, but that would endanger my internal organs. My back would have to do…

Just when I thought he was going to tear into my spine, something stopped him. At first I did not want to know what, but then realized that, whatever it was, was helping me. And, if it was not, well, I might as well get my footing again. I sprang up, ignoring the ripping pain that burrowed through my back, and readied my sword. What I saw was a weird, though comforting sight.

Sonic, who looked incredibly pissed off, was suspended in the air by a sort of dark purple, blubbery binding. At first, it did not make all that much of sense of how it got there or why, but long claws extended over his shoulders and harshly scratched his neck. It was obviously on my side. I took my gun, which I thought could be spare another shot (though, in reality, it really could not), and aimed it at his head. I closed my eyes, looked away, and pulled the trigger. A gunshot echoed through the air. I could not bear to see his dismembered body, but I had to see if he was dead. I slowly looked over only to find that he was not there at all.

"Looking for someone?" a voice whispered from behind.

Fuck.

I was kicked harshly into the wall. I pushed myself off, despite the fact that hundreds off small, pointy rocks had pierced my body, and prepared myself for claws that would soon digging into my back. But, quite surprisingly, I was moved before Sonic ever reached me by none other than Meep. My first reaction to seeing him was joy, but then I saw how lengthen and distorted his body was. He must have been the bindings that the hedgehog was locked in. And, oddly, he looked somewhat like a Guardian, but I really had no time to think about it. Sonic was already coming for us again and there was no way Meep could fly, elongated or not, faster than him.

I grabbed onto the Chao and flipped us around. His claws grazed by my cheek drawing blood. During our close contact, I tried to pierce him with the sword, but he moved way too quickly out of sight.

I had to think. I could not just run from him forever. The time would come when I was caught and it was not going to be particularly pretty. I would rather present myself to Keita as a formidable opponent than being dragged there by Sonic as a dying prisoner. But how could someone, with only a gun which bullets were far too slow; a sword which took time to actually stab with; a Chao which, though helpful, could only do so much; and a brain which was not thinking straight, stop a being that could go to and beyond the speed of sound? It was far too difficult – and the odds were far unlikely. Somewhere, something told me it was infinity to one against. It might have been my own mind, or it might have been Keita, but, whichever, it was right. I did not have the right tools.

Unless… I fought him head on. But how? He would use his speed even then. And why would he accept such a ridiculous duel? Whatever I did, I had to stop him from running, but that meant somehow disabling his legs. They were going so fast, however, that I could barely even see them. It was impossible to target something you cannot see.

While thinking, a flaw was made while maneuvering and I was struck down to the ground. Meep attempted to fend him off as I regained my footing, but he could only hold him off for so long. Just as I took flight, the Chao was struck down to the ground. Before Sonic could deliver a final blow, however, he disappeared. His sights were back on me.

I tried my best to avoid him while strategizing and without Meep, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. And, as the seconds wore on, 'cat and mouse' became less of a game and more of a battle to the death for Sonic. He was becoming almost foolishly irritated as he swiped at me. His steps were slightly sloppier and his movements more realistic. Maybe if I kept this up, he would make a mistake. But then I noticed something: Keita was no longer in control. He would never want his host to show any form of weakness. But why would he give him up? Did he lose control? No, that was not it. Something must have come up with one of the other groups. I would not be surprised if it was Kage or Soran's tampering – after all, they knew the place. I was just thankful he was gone.

But how to immobilize Sonic – that was still a mystery.

The Chao returned after a short (though seemingly long) absence and once again joined the cause. With him around, I could spend a fraction more of time with tactics than with running. It was not much but better than I had before.

As we danced across the grueling battlefield, memories of Sonic soared back to me. The chili dogs, the beach, the fighting, our friends. It seemed so distant yet, all at once, so near. It had only been four months ago. What had changed? The only answer I could come up with was everything. Eggman is dead, the world is in chaos, and we were now on opposite sides. I faltered a few times because of my lack of concentration, but thankfully I had Meep there to cover me. All of my memories were short, so eventful, others not, but one particular one stood out in my mind:

_F L A S H B A C K_

_I must have looked like a wreck when I waked into that kitchen; I never saw Sonic look so surprised. He even hesitated, something he never did. But, quick as always, he gathered himself; in a very hurried manner, he abandoned his chili dog (and almost spit out the chuck that was in his mouth) and rushed over to my side. "What happened to you, man? It looks like you got ran over by a freakin' car!" He sat me down and, in a flash, he was back with an icepack. He eyed me suspiciously. "Is Eggman up to something again?" _

_He should have known what I had done. It had only been the topic this morning at the breakfast table, but Sonic was usually not one to connect two situations together – recent or not. "I asked Shadow to fight me," I answered casually. It hurt to talk. "Don't worry; he said there was no need to go to a hospital."_

_Sonic was, at the least, shocked. "Why the hell did ya do that?" He practically screamed. I might have laughed when he said this, I was not sure. _

_"Well, this morning I asked if you would do a quick round with me, but you said no, so I went for the next best thing." I tried to grin, maybe piss him more than he already was, but my mouth hurt too much. And, though thankfully I did not, there was a possibility I lost a tooth or two. _

_He took a deep breath, as though he was trying to gather himself. I think he knew that I was being relaxed about being beat to a pulp just to tee him. With his next words, he tried to do the same, but it did not really work. "Hey, man, listen: when somebody tells ya no, it doesn't mean you go and…" he looked me up and down, "… get the shit beat out of you – _man,_ what did he do to make your arm look like that?" _

_I looked down to find that my arm was indeed bent out of shape. Maybe I did need to go to a hospital. "I think he might have put me into a lock," I replied, "I'm not sure."_

_"This is why ya don't go and do stupid things!" _

_I spit only to realize it was blood. "Hypocrite." _

_He eyed me, gunning me down. If there was one thing the hedgehog did not like, it was being called a hypocrite. After the whole ordeal with Shadow, anything that was relative to the word 'faker' was not allowed. "And why," he asked calmly though I could perfectly see his anger, "would that be?" _

_"You do stupid things all the time," I replied. "Running at the speed of sound across terrain you could easily smash into is not exactly _smart. _Going up against hundreds of robots with nothing but speed and arrogance is not exactly _smart. _Having only a diet of chili dogs and beer isn't exactly _brilliant_, either. Care for me to go on?"_

_"No, I get your point," he almost growled. "What you're forgetting is that I have experience in those areas. And, hey, don't insult my diet. It's very good in carbs." _

_I ignored his last comment. "Exactly – you have experience! But I bet the first time you tried, it was just plain _stupidity _that made you do it. How am I going to have experience at fighting a thing as fast as sound when you won't let me?" _

_Though he was still angry, I could see he was overcome by confusion. "Why would you want that?" he asked. _

"_I need to know how someone can stop something that goes the speed of sound without going that speed yourself." It was the truth. I did not want to fight Sonic just to say that I did. I actually wanted something out of it. "I thought by fighting you I'd figure it out, but," I chuckled, "I got crushed by Shadow instead." _

_He blinked and, suddenly, began to laugh. I gave him a weird look. What possibility could be so funny about that? He acted as though he wiped a tear from his eye – he was always overdramatic like that. "If you wanted to know that, you could'a just asked me. I thought a genius like you would'a thought of that!" _

_I stared at him dumbfounded. He must have been joking. Did I really just go and get the shit beaten out of me for nothing? "Then tell me," I challenged. _

_He sat down next to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and said, "Fine. I'll show you how to stop the Fastest Thing Alive." _

_R E A L I T Y_

I felt, quite frankly, like an idiot. How could I have possibly forgotten about him telling me that? The way he taught me was not going to be easy, but it was definitely worth a shot. After I flipped out of the mad hedgehog's way, his claws grazing my cloak, I quickly perched Meep on my shoulder. "Can you –!" Another narrow escape. " – stretch out any longer?" This time, my flee was much sloppier and I actually got hit. "Perhaps across –." I almost dropped Meep as I flipped backwards. " – the room or something?"

The Chao, with a grin, saluted. "Yessir!" He jumped off my shoulder and spread his body across the room. Now if only I could find a way to trick Sonic into tripping while being close enough to pin him down.

I sprang across Meep and landed on the other side. Sonic, though possessed, was not stupid; he would not just run across to get me. Unless… "Hey," I called, grabbing his attention. "Yeah, um, you!" I pointed at him to ensure him I was talking to him and not Meep. "Just wanted you to know that you're a _faker." _

He stopped, on the other side of Meep, and cocked an eyebrow. Even though he had no idea why I was calling him that, he still was interested. "A what?" he asked cruelly. The metal contraptions on his head clinched down almost as though they were helping him think.

I felt like I was digging my own grave. "A faker," I answered. "You know, like a hypocrite." I shrugged my shoulders. "I mean…" I had to think of something. "… you're stuck down here chasing me while Shadow, the _real _hedgehog, is down there leading your Master's army. How does that make you feel?"

Almost like a robot, he replied, "Master said you and Lord Kage are more important than the filth that fight outside."

Not good. "Well," I said while hesitating. I wish I had taken lessons from Kage on this subject before we left. Wait – Kage! "But where is Kage?" I questioned him. "Why isn't he here?"

"He has already been retrieved," he responded. He sounded like a robot when Keita did not talk for him. But, at least he had some knowledge.

Shit. Our chances of surviving Keita just got cut down to half. I continued on, deciding to focus on the task before me instead of thinking about my death. "And did you get him or did somebody else?"

"An Executioner did," Sonic replied immediately. "It was rewarded for its efforts and then killed for touching him."

I gulped. If one of his own minions was killed for touching him even though he was the one that brought him to Keita, think of what is going to happen to us who took him away for a year and a half and treated him like a normal person. I continued on, not wanting to think about it. "So you were not trusted with the task? Because, you said before that me _and _Kage were more important than the armies outside. Sure you brought us here, but really, your Master probably was on a shortage of hands. If he could, he would have sent _Shadow _to get us." I looked at him in fake disgust. "Faker."

He thought for a moment. I could tell he was becoming at least somewhat annoyed, but no where near close to charging blindly at me. Another method was needed, but what? I was called a genius, yet I could not think up of how to trick Sonic, who was easy to trick possessed or not!

Another idea came though it would probably get me killed, "Your Master… he's… different," I said. "Shape-shifting into a woman to make people think that it was his ex-fiancé trying to kill everyone. He must have some serious problems." I felt like Kage when I said these things. He must have actually made an impression on me. "And, also, he's a stereotype." Now I was digging my grave. "A villain stereotype. He sends all his minions to destroy his enemies while he sits in the background sipping wine – or, in his case, blood. Must be horrible for his teeth." I saw that he was becoming a bit more peeved. "You know, maybe I'm fretting for nothing," I announced. "Maybe Keita isn't as strong as we thought he was. Oh, sure, he can definitely use magic, but if we disabled that, we could squash him like a fly. Tell him something for me, would you? It's just a little message." I took in a deep breath. "Go fuck yourself!"

Sonic's eyes widened. He must have not been suspecting that. Now I had something. "That's right," I said with a soft smirk, "tell Keita to go fuck himself so we don't have to do it for him. Say it's from me – I'll take the blame. Hell, he's probably listening in right now. Or he's too busy with Kage. Oh, tell him another thing too, please? Tell him that once we all get to where he's hiding – and, believe me, all of us will, we're going to rip his head off and pour water into both sides of the wound _just_ for Kage. That'll have to be the last thing, though, since we really need to torture him. You know, give him a taste of his own medicine." I could imagine it. Rapping Keita up in chains, rip him apart limb to limb, making him scream for once. Yes, it would be lovely.

I did not know whether the vein popping out of Sonic's head was from impatience or offense, but I did not care. He was going to get mad enough to make a mistake. As he told me while he was sane: 'The only way to catch a hedgehog is to have it mess up. How you come to this and what you are going to do after that is up to your own imagination.'

And what an imagination I had suddenly gained.

"Keita wouldn't want you to just stand there," I told him. "I just insulted him, threatened him, talked of killing him and all you do is stand there?" I shook my head. "No _wonder _he sent Shadow instead of you." I looked him straight in the eye. "Faker."

He exploded. He raced towards me, jumping across Meep, but the Chao rebounded and caught him in his embrace before the hedgehog could bury his claws deep into my flesh. He struggled to free himself, but by the time he had began to rip himself free, I had already tackled him. The urge for blood suddenly filled me. I did not know why I was having conflicting feelings about killing him. One moment I did, the next moment I did not. I was going to have to decide. I put my hands around his neck, about to snap it, but stopped. Sanity flung me back to reality.

I settle all on my body weight on his back and turned around to face his legs. "You're going to hate me for this, Sonic," I told him softly, "but maybe someday you'll understand why I did it. I'd rather have you alive than running."

With eyes clenched, I dug my claws into the left leg's flesh and, with a yank, pulled it out of its socket(1). He screamed, struggling to free himself, but with only one leg working right, it would be impossible. Instead of cringing, though, I was grinning. I grabbed his knee cap and twisted his calf until I heard a satisfying crunch. My vision wove in and out revealing that I was breaking Keita's legs instead of Sonic's. His screams were like symphonies, but they still sounded just like the hedgehog. While they made my adrenaline run, it also set me into panic. What was I doing? I pulled the other leg out of its socket and did the same. In a haze, I reached up and snapped his ankles. His screams echoed in my brain.

I settled down as I looked at my work. It was a horrible mess of blood, bone, and fur. Sonic would never be able to run again. And, after a moment, I began to cry. "What have I done?"

So this was what it was like to go insane…

* * *

Amy's POV

"Kier?" I asked puzzled. I had heard the name somewhere, but I could not put a face to it. I took my time to think it over, but I was afraid to take too long. My eyes were glued to the bloody spine and my mind was imagining hundreds of ways the panther could murder me with it. After all, he held no compassion for the body that he discarded carelessly to the ground. Of course, that body knew nothing of this Kier, but I had a feeling that soon he would realise that I did not either. I glanced quickly up to his eyes – one real, one fake, but both were burning like fire and were growing rather impatient. I looked back to the spine, which I hesitantly found more comforting, and quickly searched my mind for where I had heard that name.

"That's what I said," he replied coldly. His voice reminded me of black winter.

"Well," I stammered. He was intimidating – especially when his mechanical fingers gripped themselves like glue to his weapon. "… Kier, um…" I gulped. I had no idea who Kier was. How _did _I know that name? I glanced back up at his face and saw that he was not pleased. Then it struck me. Kier – that was what Soran had called Kage before we threw ourselves into this God-forsaken place. "Do you mean Kage?"

His face lightened, but only slightly. "You're of use then. Where is he?"

_I'm of _use_ then? _I screeched in my mind. How dare he! And I had thought Kage was rude. I did not let my thoughts fall upon open ears, however. I felt like living. "I… I do not know," I replied softly. Adding on 'I thought perhaps you would' was not a good idea – he obviously did not like useless comments.

Without a word, he walked passed me (I turned to ice when he did), and began to head out the door. I gathered my courage, which was not much, and asked, "Where are you going?" I took a few steps towards him dragging my hammer behind me.

He stopped, but only for a second before continuing on. I followed him, jogging until I was by his side. I could feel the spine rapping around my neck without him even lifting a finger. Continuously I reminded myself that I was talking to this horrifying individual for Kage, but it did not help my nerves – or my voice. "How-how do you know him?" I questioned shakily. "Do you know where… where he could be?"

For a moment, he did not reply, but, just when I was giving up, he said, "Keita."

I jumped a few metres away from him and held my hammer defensively. "You're with Keita or he's with Keita?" It was not a wise idea to grasp a weapon in such a way in front of someone who could easily break it in half, but I wanted my answer. If he was with Keita, I was going to have to defend myself. But… if he was, why did he save me? The madman would have ordered me dead.

He looked me up and down with piercing amber eyes. He could see that I was shaking, that I was barely able to hold my hammer with my weary arms, that I was no threat to him. If Kage was here _then _he would have something to worry about… but he was not. I held my gaze straight into his. Uncertain, but determined green meet fiery amber.

Then… he walked away. And, though I think it was my imagination, I swore I heard him chuckle as he passed.

Well, he was not with Keita. At least I do not think he was. But he was leaving me, and that was unacceptable, especially if he knew where Kage was. So I followed him again, forever persistent, and bombarded him with questions; ones that I figured he was not going to answer, but I did anyway. "Where is Keita? He's not going to hurt-hurt Kage, is he? How can we find him? How long will it take? _Can _we find him?" I jumped in front of the panther to block his path. "I _demand_ an answer."

His eyes narrowed, but he asked, "To which one?"

I thought for a moment. Which one did I want an answer to? Finally, with confidence, I said, "Kage. Can we find him?" When he did not answer, I told him that it was my fault the black kitsune was gone and that his safety meant a lot to me.

"… Yes."

I smiled slightly. Now we are getting somewhere. "Where?"

"Keita's inner chambers."

My jaw dropped. Oh great.

* * *

1) _This might sound harder than it actually is. Popping your femur out of your pelvis is incredibly hard to do in physical activities, but if someone actually pulls it enough, it's quite easy to snap out. John-Paul learned that the hard way (whistles). _

The chapter in which Ero eats cow's liver, Soran shares philosophies, Tails sinks deeper into insanity, Meep is there, Amy seeks the help of an enigma, and Keita unleashes more of his master, evil plan that we wish would end soon! Yes, indeed these things make a horrible, horrible chapter indeed! Sorry it was bad – I'll try to make the next chapter better.

Please review!

Kelsey


	62. Chapter 61

_This chapter is dedicated to Malak22 and Tomeo who made me feel extremely guilty for getting this chapter out more than a month late. Thank you. _

_P.S. Sorry for the totally crappy POV dividers, but the fanfiction one was being a bitch. So C's it is. _

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Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 61

Amy's POV

"How do you know him?"

The panther had not spoken to me since his announcement. I did not know if he was just ignoring me or if he was always this way, but it was beginning to get on my nerves. I wanted something to distract myself as we trekked through body-filled hallways, but the prisoner seemed nowhere near willing to help. Everyone that had been in my group had become prone to death while I was still not exactly there. The bodies, however, were not mangled like the other I had seen but instead dehydrated. No blood, no water, no liquid at all – they were simply shriveled and the panther, oddly, seemed pleased. I shook my head, clearing my mind in an attempt to understand his philosophy. It was obvious he was insane, so what was there to comprehend?

For a moment I walked in almost a trance, but when I realized he had not answer my question, I raced up to his side and voiced myself again. "How do you know Kage?" The black kitsune had said before that he was not allowed out during his time in Babylon, so how possibly could the panther know him?

"I've met him," he replied dully. "That's all you need to know."

I heaved, ready to scream, but let out my anger in a sigh after adding up the consequences. I did not see why I had to be restricted from such simple information. It was just a simple question! I thought of yelling at him, like I had done earlier, but it did not seem to affect him much. He most definitely did not care for me, and I, quite frankly, did not care for him; but the panther, at the moment, was my only link to Kage, and, until I get another, I was going to have to deal with him.

The panther stopped unexpectedly and I almost ran into him. I wanted to ask exactly what his deal was, but he pointed and said, "Here." I stared straight into a towering hole that buried deep into the mine wall. At first, I did not make the connection, but then remembered exactly what made it. I was going to warn the panther, but he was already climbing into it. "Wait!" I raced up to the opening, but dared not enter myself. "Don't you realise what made this?"

He looked back and replied, "Yes, it better be. One of these tunnels will lead us to the core. So, if you're afraid of the dark, leave. I don't need you anymore anyway."

"You don't _need _me anymore," I retaliated after recovering from shock. "You just don't go saving someone and then tell them that you don't _need_ them anymore!"

"I saved you when I thought you'd be useful," he told me coldly. "Now you aren't. So scram."

I had never felt so offended in my life. Here I was, Miss Innocent who was stuck in a cave just hoping to find her friend, totally putting her life (and somewhat Kage's also) into a stranger's hands, and then he just decides that I am not _helpful _anymore. I told him Kage was alive, I offered my assistance, yet he just decides that he no longer needs me and wants to leave me for dead. "Fine!" I screamed. "When you go get eaten by the big, scary monster, I'll laugh. Then we both will never find Kage – Kier – whatever you call him!"

Something flickered in his eyes. And then, for the first time, he showed emotion. His roar was so loud, so breathtaking, and so absolutely terrifying that I yelped in shock and almost lost my balance. His teeth were disgustingly yellow and bloodstained and his breath smelt of flesh. With his metallic arm, he reached up and grabbed my hair with such force and speed that I could not even come close to retaliating. "Listen, girl," he said slowly, gruelingly. "And listen well. Hell is no place for prissy, screamy, ignorant little girls like you, so I advise you leave with haste… As for Kier – I will find him. He's the only thing I've got." With that, he pulled away, releasing my hair and letting me dropped to his feet. I glanced up, ready to defend myself (even if I was rather shaken), to find that, instead of a spine whipping down to smack me, I simply stared at an amber, mechanical eye. He shook his head, turned away, and muttered something around the lines of, "Closest thing I have to…" Before I could ask, he was walking away into darkness.

I simply sat there for a moment in thought. But then, with some sort awkward leap, I stood up and called. "Hey." He stopped, silently motioning me to continue. For a moment, I hesitated, thinking over what I was about to say, but then murmured, "I know… what's like to only have… one thing to care about." For a moment, I was afraid to say it. I saw images of my friends flash before my eyes – two hedgehogs, a bat, and a softly smiling kitsune. But the words slipped out anyway. "Kage might be the only thing I have now too…"

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Tails' POV

I do not remember when I got up and finally left him. I did not know which was worse: the hypocrisy of leaning over his body, bawling yet also occasionally laughing at the mess I had created or that, even when he was in such pain, he could only insult me and praise the _lord _that threw us both so carelessly away. I had thought that Keita would have been cruel enough to relieve Sonic, even if it was just for a moment, from insanity cry out in pain at the sight of his dream in a twisted, disgusting mess of broken bone, ripped muscle, and laced with blood. Let him look up at me and ask me why, but it never happened. I was grateful, but then realized that Keita was no longer in control. He had driven the blue hedgehog so far into madness that no one would be able to save him. Ever. He had made him a lost cause.

And this, perhaps, was worse.

I thought of killing him, ending his life, his pain, lifted the blade and even the gun so many times to destroy him, but I never developed the guts. While my mind rejected the idea with terrified screams and endless consequences, my body craved for the adrenaline rush of ending a life. To, just for a moment, become God. To feel, once again, a beating heart in the palms of my hands. Again, perhaps, rap an intestine around my neck. To shower myself in blood, creating a bliss that Sonic had described to me as _exhilarating. _It really was… a thrill. Such a thrill that, though it swirled me in worlds of pleasure, I never wanted to feel again… yet, at the same time, did.

Meep sat, ever so calmly, beside me the entire time, softly stroking my hand and whispering comforting words while staring, so void of emotion, at Sonic's twisted form. I barely noticed him through my fits, my emotional mayhem, my screaming and crying. Despite my helplessness, he never left my side. I would extend my claws, laughing, wanting to be filled with such passion and wonder that I could have considered it even _divined, _but he simply calmed me, allowing me to slip back into a mourning, bewildered soul. How many nights he must have spent, in darkness, listening to Kage's cries of despair, his answerless questions, and his innocent pleas. Would he comfort him in a similar way or would he go beyond himself in an attempt to recover his master from the depths of madness? I did not know. And, for a while, I hardly even cared. I thought that the creature should have done more, should have dragged me away from the body, thrown me against the wall, and straightened my mind. Yet, how could he of? Did he really trust me, my psyched brain, enough not to do something that I would regret?

… I had already done that.

The lifeless bodies of Rouge and Knuckles and the shrieking insults of Sonic left thousands of tiny, barely noticeable scars on my mind as I slowly, almost barely staggered down the hallway. My gun shoved deep into my pocket, my sword in one hand, the guiding hand of Meep in the other, I barely cared to keep an eye out for potential threats. In honesty, I no longer cared.

"It be alright," Meep told me. Unfortunately, he was no longer even attempting to smile. "Meep make it all better. Tails see. Everything good in end. Meep not do it only for Kage, but for Tails too."

I did not reply.

Whether it was my imagination or not, I did not know, but as we travelled on, I swore I heard the clicking of the Machine grow louder and louder. For a while, I truly thought it was my mind, but soon Meep released my hand and sped forward, sliding around the corner to get a glance ahead. I stood in expectation. Believing that we, perhaps, were close to the Machine could get my mind off of Sonic. I could hardly believe my ears when the Chao cried, "Machine! Machine dis way!"

It was my first sign of hope in what seemed to be for days. I sighed in relief. Perhaps this could get us on track. The sooner I got to Keita, the better. I had a score to settle with him. A score that, when I noticed the hallways trembling from the war below, could not wait.

I was literally dragged by Meep around the corner only to set my eyes on the most bent-up doors I had ever seen. They were made of strong metal, their hinges bolted deep into stone, but the doors themselves were beaten so out of shape I was not sure if they could be opened. The Chao let me go and zoomed down the hallway just when I noticed the trail of blood. It was already dried, but it looked like a river. Whoever, or whatever, made it must have been dragged. Blood did not just spill out in such a way. I gulped. This must really be the Machine.

Soran had once said it was created to transform bodies into suitable capsules for the Guardians – the Perfect Creatures. The process must be grueling. It was odd that a spiritualist would use a modern device to construct a body instead of hand labour. At the same time, though, Keita was on a strict schedule and he did not seem to be so accepting to the spiritualist ways anymore. He was at such an advantage that he could afford mass production – not perfection. It was ironic really. You would think he would take more time to make his Perfect Creatures. Obviously not.

I took a handle, though cautiously, and tried to pull the door open. No avail. I tugged a little harder. The door budged but not by much. I stepped back, examining it closer. There was no way I was getting in there without making some sort of a scene.

"It alright," Meep told me. "Surinder dere. Surinder don't see far well." When I showed my doubt, he simply said, "Trust Meep!"

I am afraid that was hard to do. He had never shown me any logic. Sure he brought Ai's book on dreamworlds to me, but that ended up being written in at least eight different languages at once. Also, he had seemed almost _too _eager to come here. He definitely did not know what we were getting into. "Is there a way around the Machine?" I asked. "A way that you'd still know where you were going?"

He grinned. "Nope!" He grasped the handle to the other door with both hands. His claws extended. "Don't Tails worry! Surinder real nice. Surinder intimidating doe. Meep set Tails up on good terms." With that, he _pushed_ open the door which creaked loud enough to make me wince.

I set my sights upon the Machine and suddenly wanted to turn back.

It was not like I had never seen a mechanical device; it was the exact option. They were my closest companion while growing up. They were my life, my dream, my so-called future. With them, I had helped Sonic save the world a countless amount of times and contributed to making our home a better place. This, however, was entirely different. Its blood tainted metal loomed over me, its creaking and screaming echoed through my ears. My eyes were immediately drawn to the rack of bodies, hung with heavy metal hooks through their stomachs, slowly being moved into metal jaws. I looked to the ground in an attempt to clear the image away but only found more blood. I never wanted to see such a sight again.

But then something caught my eye. I glanced up to find a weary, stumbling figure walking beside the Machine, cursing seemingly everything he could think of. He was definitely not healthy. I had never seen a chinchilla with so many wrinkles before. His eyes blazed bright yellow, spilling into his pupils like acid, but other than that, he had no colour. His face and hands were black with soot, but his back was covered in malnourished fur – the patches that were there anyway. His skin, boiled and ripped, was flaking and becoming an unnatural colour. But his most interesting, and perhaps most disturbing, feature was that, from the torso down, he was robotic. I had to admit, it was an intelligent design, but it was not well taken care of. There was no natural movement – mere steps took several seconds to take.

He began, with a growl, to adjust a screw on one of the panels with a screwdriver I soon realised was attached to a metallic arm. He glanced over to us (it almost seemed he had a sound delay), but he only seemed to notice Meep. He was not apparently happy to see him. "Oh, it's you," he growled.

The Chao's eyes narrowed slightly, but then he grinned in triumph and suddenly announced, "Meep presents Lord Keita," and pointed directly to me.

I simply blinked while the chinchilla freaked out. He stumbled around, grabbed the hat on his head (though it was more of a bloodied rag than anything), and performed an awkward bow. "Please excuse me, Master." He dared not look at me. He was shivering to the extent that it was becoming violent.

For a moment, I was at a loss. I wished that the Chao would have at least informed me of his idea of _good terms _before busting in and saying I was the psychopath who happened to rule this place. I was not a particularly good actor. It did help that I was a spitting image of Keita, but other than the cryptic messages, he had no idea how he acted. Maybe he was completely different when it came to his followers… probably not.

"Don't let it happen again," I replied coldly. I was so surprised how much I actually sounded like him that I almost blew my cover.

"Of-of-of course, Master." He still would not look at me. His tremors were not as noticeable, but he was still shivering.

We stood, for a moment, in awkward silence, but none of us seemed to mind. If he would just look up, see the blood dripping down poorly made garments, he would know I was an imposter. I prayed that he did not gain any sort of courage.

Meep was the first to speak, "News of Milord?"

Surinder straightened up, taking his eyes off the ground to look directly at the Chao, but nowhere near me. "The Prophetess has retrieved him." He faltered. "But…"

I growled, calling his attention to me. "But what?" I was not entirely sure who (or maybe the question was more of _what_) the Prophetess was, but she did not sound good. An image of a giant spider with thousands of blood red eyes appeared in my mind. I knew it was a fragment of my imagination – if Keita was listening into this conversation, he would have already told Surinder I was an imposter. If the Prophetess was different, I would rather overestimate her than under. The latter could be fatal.

"The Executioner which… retrieved him, Master," (he was almost cowering when saying this), "poisoned him. The Prophetess has killed the damned thing, but Milord is not in any condition to be moving around… even if half the poison's out."

I was not exactly sure what an Executioner was (Sonic had mentioned it but had not cared to explain), but I got the point. Unless Kage got some serious attention, he would not be joining this fight at _all. _That was one out, and who knows who else is injured... or, worse, dead. I shoved my hands into my pockets when I began to feel the pulse of a heart. "Where does she have him?"

"The throne room, I'm sure," he replied. "Just as you instructed." I had made a mistake, but he did not seem to notice. And, even if he did, it would be risky to accuse me of identity theft. If I really was Keita, one straight look in the eye could have easily gotten him killed.

"Take us," Meep said. I looked to him in surprise. It was the first time the Chao had ever used a pronoun. But his motive for having Serge accompany us was understandable – even intelligent. While Meep only knew a rough sketch of Babylon, the chinchilla _lived _here. We would no longer be wandering random halls. I just hoped Keita was too busy to notice. Of course he was – Kage was there. When I find the black kitsune, I'll find him.

When Surinder gave a look to his mechanical legs, then a glare to the Chao, Meep defended his command. "Dreamworld completing… teley-portin' bad."

I enforced it with a threat. "Is there a _problem?" _

The chinchilla bowed. "No, of course not, Master." He replaced the screwdriver on his wrist into a hand. "Please, follow me."

As he turned himself around and headed towards a door on the other side of the room, I had to bite my tongue to keep from offering to repair his legs – to at least oil the joints for him. That would probably have a hundred Guardians beckoned to tear me from limb to limb. Once Keita figured out, he would probably come and laugh.

"Coming?" Meep asked me quietly.

I nodded. "Of course." I could not help but smirk as I followed the chinchilla out. Now that I was on the right track, the countdown until I met face-to-face with Keita, for real, began. It was only a matter of time before I would be able to speak my mind and actually _be _heard. _And those things, _I vowed to myself, _will be said while _he _is at _my _mercy. _A gun to his head, fear in his eyes, his body pressed painfully against the ground. It would be a beautiful thing. A really beautiful thing.

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Ero's POV

We were in the middle of discussing our master escape when the Executioners came. We took one look at their blood red eyes, long claws, and headed tentacles and decided that running like hell was by far our best option. Unfortunately, this was not as easy as we had first expected. While the heads were definitely bothersome, the creatures themselves were beyond deadly. Even if they were created to torture, to kill, in a small space, their tactics on open ground were nothing short of amazing – I could not deny their intelligence even if I wanted to. Unfortunately, even if it was incredible, it ranked our chance of survival at next to nothing. Soran had told me that, if it was possible to face them one-on-one, we would have a chance, but they refused to leave each other, and we dared not to venture off alone in hopes to separate them.

A few hallways back we were able to outrun them, but the branches cracked through the walls, nestling around us to impede us. The shrunken, shrilling heads began to drool black, fuming ooze that slowly covered the floor.

"Are those heads _supposed _to do that?" I asked as I shot a few sparks of fire at them. I was too afraid to step through their spit to behead them. There was no way I was going to let something like poison kill me – not here, not now.

"Don't touch it," Soran told me. "It's a neurotoxin. And, even if you survive being paralyzed for an hour, there are some nasty side effects." He slammed his sword into the bridge of a head's nose, withdrawing it only to slice off half the face of another.

"Then how the hell do we get out of here?"

A grin grew as he laughed. "Do you not know my answer?"

Even as I rejoiced when I was able to slice through an entire branch, I still growled. "Yes, use our imaginations, I know. I'm asking you, though, since you are _such_ a master at it."

"Ah, a compliment!" If he had not been slashing through heads and a branch while saying this, I would have sworn he had clapped. "I never suspected such a wonderful thing from you! You actually think I'm good for something." The last sentence leaked with sarcasm.

From the corner of my eye, I caught the Executioners at the bottom of the hallway. "_Soran!_" I hissed, hoping my irritation would be heard. Dying just because he was celebrating a compliment was not ideal.

He did not answer. I looked around to find he was far too busy with the onslaught of heads, branches, and poison to even _start _to use his imagination. I was going to have to conjure up a plan on my own. Unfortunately, this was usually Kage's job. I wince, while I slashed through a branch, when I thought of an almost embarrassing idea. For just one moment, I was going to have to think like either Kage or Soran.

It was a scary thought.

The cougar was a bit much – thinking like him, even if it was just for a millisecond, would drive me insane. Kage was not that much better, but just enough to choose him over Soran. What would he do…? Destruction. So much destruction that it would stun – leave a clean getaway. But how? The Executioners had their minds set on our deaths, or at least, mine anyway. Who knows what will happen to Soran…

A spell came to mind. I had only seen it performed once and it was not even in a battle setting. A demonstration, if you will. It was dark magic, something a healer like me would never be educated in. I had a hell of a more chance, however, of performing it than Kage did – and he set up the spell in the throne room. All right, so he picked up a few tricks from Keita, but still. If he could do that, I could do this… right?

As a set of teeth dug into my arm, I decided that I probably could not, but that did not mean it was not worth a shot.

Water would have been the best element, but with such a low supply, it was not enough to produce the desired effect. My next was fire which, though was only a temporary solution, was a force the creature was supposed to react to – harmful or not. It would give Soran and me a chance to at least find some sort of haven. Maybe then we would muster up a better plan. Doubtful, but possible.

I performed the spell though it was probably not close to right. The heads, however, still screamed as their blue skin was brunt off their bodies, and the branches recoiled back into the walls. The Executioners screamed, loud and piercing, as the flames sprites flew through the halls, setting fire to their cloaks and hands.

"… Nice job," Soran commented wide-eyed. I guess I should have at least shouted some sort of warning before launching a spell, but the tip of his tail was only sizzling, so he was not seriously hurt or anything.

There was no time to stand around. Soon we were racing through the halls, skidded around corners, and stumbling past littered bodies. "If we can just get to one of the larger rooms," the cougar shouted, "we should be able to find a place to hide. It'll be better than nothing." From down the path, I could hear the angry screams of the creatures, their chanting heads shrieking in fury. Hiding sounded like a great plan.

Just as the Executioners gained on us, we found a bent-up, rusted metal door to the left. I kicked it open, dragging Soran in with me. Fortunately, the room was not completely metal leaving boulders, ridges, and holes for us to hide in. "Hide, hide, hide," I muttered to myself, taking my time to look at each possible spot and evaluating it.

Soran, however, already seemed to know. He grabbed my arm, rushed me to the other side of the room, and we hide behind several boulders, their shadows overcastting us. "Listen very closely," he told me in a whisper. I could hear, even feel, the Executioners approaching the doors. The branches thankfully were gone, as were the heads, but the threat was not. "The Executioners do not… have good eye sight. They go off of smell, touch – especially touch." He pulled his gun off his back. "If you can aim this at their heads without making a sound, we should be able to take them down."

"You've had this gun the entire time?" I asked him harshly. I felt like yelling, but the Executioners were just outside, probing the door with interest. "We're you saving it for a special occasion or something?"

He nodded. "It's our only water source, remember? You lost the pack!"

"No, correction: I was _unconscious _when _you _lost the pack."

"It's your fault you were unconscious!" He shook his head, looking to the door. "They're coming."

Indeed, but only one came in. Other than its heavy breath, silence reigned. I gulped down air as cold sweat dripped down my face and back. I tucked myself behind the boulders with my only comfort being Soran – meaning, in truth, nothing was really there. I sniffed the air but cringed. Blood, body odor, and vomit filled the room. The creature approached. I tightly shut my eyes. _Please don't see us, please don't see us, please don't see us, please don't see us…_

"Ero…"

_Please don't see us, please don't see us, please don't --!_

"Ero!" The cougar hissed. In return, I gave him a nasty look. I would actually find it funny if the Executioner found _him. _I, on the other hand, really wished I was invisible. My mind, however, was distracted from such thoughts when Soran shoved the gun into my hands. "Aim for its head," he told me.

"Are you insane? I've never fired one of these things before!"

Around this time, the Executioner was splitting a few barrels down on the left side of the room. It was still rather far from us but seeing its fury while doing so made my heart skip a beat. It would be nasty business when it slashed through _my _body in the same way. I gripped onto the gun.

"You're closest and if we switch places, it'll notice. Just follow my commands." He snatched the weapon from my palms and replaced it in the correct position. There was a moment of silence between us. As the Executioner continued to search the barrels, I saw a glint in Soran's eyes as he looked from the gun to our prey. There was no such thing has happiness in that moment, nor was there the determination I saw when we rushed (I unknowingly) into Kage's room to confront Keita head-on. The sadness we had experienced throughout our trials was far, the envy we felt for each other as we battled not only demons but emotions was dead. The only thing that existed there was pure animalic instinct – the need for blood, the kill, perhaps the rush of _revenge. _With that homicidal smirk and twitching, eager lip, I swore that he might have turned on me, clawing into my chest and taking my heart. But as his mouth opened to begin to speak, to instruct on this method of war – this madness, I knew it was directed towards it. Perhaps even higher to Keita. It still made me sick, but to see such excitement, such absolute devotion to one task was… inspiring. I began to fear not only him, not only an execution, but also myself.

"Imagine," he told me, his voice no higher than a whisper, "the bullet drilling through its head. The scream, the blood, the _kill… _Imagine the pride, the power, knowing that _you _are the Executioner, not it." Ever so lightly he put his arm around my shoulder, gripping the top of the gun, and ever so carefully he leaned his head closer to my ear. "Remember the Third Commandment – never hesitate. _Always _keep your eye on the prize." With that, he roughly moved the gun so that I was staring at the ferocious creature through the scope.

My grasp tightened and my finger began to twitch from eerie excitement, no longer worry. An image I thought would make me sick sent shivers of exhilaration, my muscles contracting in anticipation. Adrenaline rushed, and I found myself growing _impatient. _

"Crave the scream that will escape its lips as it crashes to the ground, imagine the thrill of knowing you killed one of the bastard'sgreatest creations." His voice dropped, a gasp of amusement blowing through my ear. "Knowing that, in your own way, you avenged _him._" Then I had not been able to think, the urge to take the Executioner to the ground had been so strong, but for a moment, for the sake of argument, it should be asked whether he was speaking of Kage or of someone else. As we had swept that room to take down Keita, he was ferocious, angered by the fact he would dare invade us on our own grounds, but this was _madness. _A sick, twisted game played with disposable pawns, including himself. A last act, the final play, the resolving conflict.

"Fire," he hissed and I did. The bullets gun rattled and smoked as the bullets left the chamber, the pop of them leaving the barrel and screeching through the bloodstained air. The Executioner did not have a chance. Before it could have even turned its attention from the discarded planks of wood, four bullets barreled through its head, water exploding inside its skull. A bloodcurdling, siren shriek sounded, breaking the silence that had existed in the halls, during the last moments of its life – as the water crippled and burned the brain and its flesh. Shriveling as the poison dripped down its body, throwing the corpse to the floor. Soon, all that was left was a set of large, granite claws and piercing red eyeballs, the life diminished from its pupils. And, though fresh black ooze spread through the cracks of the floor, filling the room with an unusual blood, it fit so _nicely _into the scenery, like it belonged there all along. Because, in reality, it did.

Silence followed. As my senses came back, after I had realised what I had done (a death is a death, even if the creature had not been _alive_), Soran broke out into a manic, chillingly-happy laughter that echoed through the halls, much like the monster's scream, but in a much eerier way. And, though he quieted, I heard him mutter, between the pleased, twisted snickers, "For Rais… for Rais… for Slacks…"

The gun toppled from my hands, discarded more out of disgust than of fear. As I looked upon the body, the atmosphere filled with borderline madness, it turned though only for a moment into the first person I had ever killed. It had been far before Keita, before that fire, and even before my father's death… it was back when I was ten and Kage was six. The Outsiders, rural men who lived in the outskirts of the canyons of Acorn, our enemies, attacked Mori Mura on a summer's night. I had only been in training then, barely strong enough to wield my axe, my father's keepsake. I should not have been there, in the middle of the city, surrounded by pillars' fire and screams, but Kage was missing. He had been my responsibility – always had been since the moment I first found him discarded, abandoned in the rain all those years ago, before he could remember. The moment I had seen that… that bastard put his hands on him, throwing him against a burning wall, and telling him things nobody should, no doubt had run through my mind as the axe came down, splitting him in awkward two. And as I had looked down at that mutilated body, a six-year-old grabbing onto my robes in fear, I had repeated over and over again "for Kage" to clear my conscience. Despite an easy rested mind, reassured every time I saw him smile, those words never did help. And they never would. It was much better knowing I had not brutally murdered a man for selfish acts, in the hope of creating a utopia for something that would never truly be mine.

But as I looked at that body again, after closing my eyes in recollection, it was not a pillar raiding a town. It was a monster, sprawled across a rocky floor close to the end off all things. And as those words from long ago softly emerged on my lips, drowned out by Soran's triumph, there was no longer doubt. It was a part of Keita, who ruined everything, from a young boy's life, to a cougar's sanity, to a struggling, yet reliant world. And killing it meant nothing at all.

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The chapter in which Amy trails the beast, Meep proves intelligent, Tails takes a role, Ero kills the first, Soran discussing the merits of imagination, and Keita is still being a bastard (what's new?).

I must apologize for this chapter being so late. It was supposed to come out the first week of June (haha, it's so past that!), but whenever the summer comes, Darkest Before Dawn just… dies. The moment school started up, this chapter came out like nobody's business (the only reason its coming up today and not the day school started – Wednesday – was because I am in almost all AP or Honours courses, so class started immediately). Everything else was fine during the summer – Nevaeh has three chapters (including the foreword) in its second draft, the rough draft will be completed with NaNoWriMo 2006, and I even have a new idea for a Sonic _and _Teen Titans story (why Teen Titans you ask? Well, I got the idea while watching the only two episodes I have ever seen. Don't give me that look – I had only played the really old Sonics when I started this and have only played about an hour of Shadow before throwing the thing back into the hell in which it came – and now, if I did not have you wonderful guys who have stuck with me, I would be getting fifty flames for having an _opinion_ because, you know, those aren't allowed. This is a rant for another day).

So, again, thank you so much for reading and supporting this work (I believe this has moved from being called a fan-fiction to being called at least a 'work' – not because its that fantastic – its not – but because of its length and hopefully complexity). I know it is only pure luck that I have gotten this many loyal fans. Thanks again to Malak22 and Tomeo who called me out on my summer laziness, Childroland for his interesting comments and the realization that everyday there's a possibility of new readers that are willing to read this huge thing (though he and I did meet on a rather rough end during a particular subject – but it's all good), and to El Knackered One, who has dealt with me for over two years. Also thank you to all of regular reviewers and to anyone else who reads. I hope you continue. Darkest Before Dawn is going to be over in about five to seven chapters, so enjoy!

My manager has me on a very, _very _strict schedule now, so the next chapter will be up on September 2. That's right, instead of a month like regular updates, it has been moved to two-week updates. This story should be done by late October. So look forward to Chapter 62!

Suddenly Alive Again,

Kelsey


	63. Chapter 62

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 62

Tails' POV

"You can stop your _disgraceful _act," Surinder's voice gruffly informed me. "I know your not him."

We were further than halfway to the throne room when he said this, breaking not only my concentration, but also my short-lived luck. I stopped abruptly, looking upon his angered demeanor, gripping my visible sword and pocketed gun in expectation. I knew that being afraid of him as an individual was a bit ridiculous (I would seriously have to try to get caught), but as the creator of the Machine, he probably knew more about the Guardians than Keita did, making him a better commander when it came to using them to end my life – and, from the look in his eyes, I knew he would succeed. But then a moment passed of tense silence, the chinchilla's lips not making even the slightest move to say a word. I waited, I even calculated, but when he made no attempt to harm me, I hesitantly eased my arms.

A reply formed in my mind (what it was I am not exactly sure), but Meep beat me to it. "Surinder so stoop-id! Meep laugh." He clapped his hands together a few times and, if I had not known better, I would have sworn he was mocking him.

The chinchilla's icy glare turned to the amused Chao whose laughter now was loud enough to echo. He shouted, "I should of known, ya slimy little bastard! Always been a deceivin' devil." The insults only fueled the fire. His intense gaze held for a couple more seconds, but then he dropped it in angered defeat before turning to me. "You look like him, I'll give you that – sound like him, too, but I guess that's to be expected." I wanted to question his statement, but he was already on a different subject. "Master would not have cared about the Dream World – when it comes to Milord, he would of risked it."

I nodded solemnly. "I see. My mistake." He opened his mouth to reply, his expression one of aggression, but lips were pierced when the barrel of my gun pressed against the tender flesh of his temple. "But I'm afraid you'll be completing the transport."

The Chao's laughter abruptly stopped, leaving the dull, rocky hallway bitter and void of sound. My determined oceanic stared into acid yellow, my fingers lightly drumming the trigger while his expression deepened, shadows blanketing his distorted face. Meep's voice ran loud drawing my attention. "No gun needed."

Yellow eyes flashed away from mine to meet the Chao's. His head moved soundly, neck cracking, splashing the shadows and pressing barrel against bone. His words were pronounced slowly, deliberately, and full of mixed emotions ranging from rage to bewilderment though the latter was much less pronounced. "You know the consequences of betrayal and blasphemy…" It was not a question, it was fact.

"As does Surinder," he replied calmly. The hallway rumbled, pebbles falling from the ceiling dribbling to the floor. He glanced around waiting for the trembles to fade before asking, "Cons matter now?"

His eyes widened vaguely at the question hesitating to answer. His skinny, purplish tongue ran over chapped lips as his head shook, skimming the metal of my gun from temple to bone, scratching the skin. He looked me straight in the eye, completely aware for the first time and, though with a scowl, said, "Lower your weapon, boy. I willingly transport you – but your safety is not a concern of mine."

The point of my gun dug deeper into his skin momentarily, warning him of the consequences if he was planning to deceive me, but knew that if he was talking this risk, more than his almost non-existent life was at risk. Keita would do more than just kill a man. My gun was pocketed; I gripped tighter onto my bloodied sword. "Yours will be made sure of… for now, anyways. Once I arrive at the throne room, I'll give less of a care than you."

"Glad we got an understanding." He tore his eyes away, turning around so casually yet ignorantly that it seemed as if I had been forgotten. Mechanic joint creaked and sputtered as he set forth down the littered hallway, giving no mind when his rusted talons were splattered with blood or particles of rotting corpses. I followed him more carefully, avoiding the mutilated, lifeless bodies, but no longer looked at them with pity.

"Will you answer a question?" I asked later in our journey, travelling through cleaner and healthier halls. It was awkward to state my question in such a way, not requesting to ask but instead requesting an answer. Questions could always be asked, proper introduction or not, but might never receive a response. There was no decency from him; an agitated grunt was all he gave. I took it as a positive reply. "What is your purpose… here, in this place?"

"… I built it," he replied cold, evenly. "I built the Machine… and I built Hell. The Master came to me three years ago and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I was a bit mad back then, but what else is new?" He prodded on, stopping only to violently shake out jammed joints. "Been here ever since. What's it to you?"

"I just want to know about the things that have happened in this place."

"Nobody has the time for that. Too much has to begin."

"Start from the beginning, perhaps?" My answer might have sounded a tad sarcastic and maybe it was, but it was meant to be a serious proposal. So many times people have started from everywhere but the very beginning and that is how miscommunication occurs.

"Everything's happened, yet at the same time, nothing at all. No living thing knows where it began." He shook his head, his dirty, diseased skins crunching up into agitated slobs. The subject was quickly changed, though his words were stated more to himself than to me. "Should have known you were not him. Never does travel with _that _thing." Following his angered eyes, I was again drawn to the purple creature which perched itself on my shoulder with an almost mocking smile.

A revelation hit me as the chinchilla threw a few absentminded insults to the Chao who simply laughed. Meep was… or _had been _with Keita. I felt stupid for not having recognized it before. It had been him, after all, who made the connection with Soran to retrieve Kage a year and a half ago. If he had not been with the Watcher, he would have been stricken down the moment he entered. He would not have even known where to go.

What had made him decide to go against him? Chaos were ferociously loyal creatures. They would throw themselves in the front lines to protect their master, listen to their every word with certainty. Meep must have had that kind of connection with Keita… but he also had it with Kage. According to Ero, he had been with them for just over three years.

_"Meep sorry for Kage. Kage like Keita lots. Meep never like Keita doe. Always thought something bad 'bout Keita." (1)_

Keita did something – something that severed all trust.

… Meep had seen Kage.

Perhaps the Watcher had not expected the Chao's intelligence to allow him to think distastefully about the 'relationship,' or maybe he had figured it out on his own. Whatever the case, it was enough to drive him into rebellion. When I was presented as Keita to Surinder, however, the chinchilla had thought Meep was still on his side. Keita would have informed his underlings of a betrayal.

It was ridiculous to say that the Watcher would have no idea that he had a traitor in his mist, but with Soran's surprising Theory, he had been lost on the cougar's identity for quite some time. Was Meep smart enough to do the same?

A remark Surinder made took my mind quickly away from the Chao. "You remind me of that egg of a man," the chinchilla growled; whether to me or Meep, I was not sure.

"Egg of a man?" I asked. "Eggman?"

An impassive grunt. "I think that was the doctor's name. An idiot if you ask me. Happiest day of my life was probably when Master killed him."

I quickened my pace, allowing myself to move from behind to beside the irritated chinchilla. "… How did you know him?" My interest was surprising. Until this conversation, the doctor had been completely forgotten enough. Keita was more of a threat that he would ever be – dead or alive.

"He was drafted to help build the Machine. I made the plans, but he had the robots to make it. I would have rather had another scientist."

It explained everything. Three years ago, things had slowed down with Eggman. Though he made his attempts on the world, they seemed almost forced. I thought he was just trying to keep tradition; I knew that Sonic would be devastated if anything happened to his archenemy because then he would be bored. But instead, he was apart of a much bigger plot, one that was close to succeeding. The blue hedgehog had once said that the day the world received new order, Eggman would not be there, and ironically he was right.

"The man was obsessed with power," Surinder told me with disgust. "The moment he saw my Master, the fixation attached to him. Whether it consisted of love or hate, I'm not sure, but that doctor would follow him around like a dog on a leash. It made me sick. His death amused me."

"Why was he killed?" Keita only needed one scientist when the Machine was completed. Keeping two around would be bothersome. But why Surinder? He had made the plans, but Eggman had the robot power. If any new developments were made, he would need the latter…

"He annoyed him." He chucked, his first sign of amusement. "The doctor was so naïve. Master told him that he would be allowed in the Dreamworld, his reward for helping being that blue hedgehog he always talked about… to be able to torture him eternally. What a foolish man!"

Staring forward, I asked him quietly, "And your reward?"

"I do not believe in such things," he replied dismally. "There are only two people going to that Dreamworld: Master and Milord."

Another question formed on my lips, but we rounded the corner and were faced by towering metal doors, adorned with precious jewels including multitudes of diamonds. The handles, covered in dirty fingerprints, were made of pure gold and the path was made of dried blood, like a red carpet.

"We're here."

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Amy's POV

It was awhile before light was reintroduced into my life. Following an enigma through blood-laced tunnels, sweaty hands gripping the handle of my hammer, made the trip seem to take hours. Though fear held its tight grip whenever a foreign sound echoed through the halls, it was relieving to know that the panther knew the path relatively well. Our pace was brisk, only slowing momentarily to determine our way when arriving at a fork. We could not afford leisure; though the serpent was probably wandering the halls, there was a chance of it slipping into the tunnels. But we were fortunate. We moved so quickly, so thoroughly, that we never even had to experience a close call.

During this moment of dark, eerie silence, I had wanted to speak. If anything, I at least wanted a name; something, anything, to identify him as, but I choked each time I tried. I was not afraid to ask him – no, it was different from that. I was confident that, by this time, he would have given me _something, _but the lurking fear of Everyone picking up the sound waves kept me quiet. So instead, as we weaved through darkness, to pass the time and easy my mind, I guessed. It would be an exotic name; nothing like Bob, Charlie, or Steve. Too simple. Perhaps Demnyx, Laharl, or Squall. Yes, one of those. Nothing simple. It is the worst word to describe him.

Though the light at the end of the tunnel was in no way as bright as electricity, it still burned my eyes. Shading them with my free hand, I tried to squint to block the blaze, but its intensity was far too much. Thankfully, the panther stood in front of me, leaping from the rough, bluish tunnel and into the hallway. The contact of metal and metal sounded like clashing swords. Even temporarily blind, I knew we were in entirely different territory.

The soles of my shoes touched the metal floor as I stepped out of the tunnel. My eyes were finally tolerate to light, allowing me to open them without pain. The hallway was grand, arched, and constructed with dull metal. At its end were tall, finely decorated doors embellished with multicoloured jewels. My breath hitched. We were here. This had to be Keita's inner chambers. Death may have very well been upon me. Though Kage was in there, so was Keita. What would it be like, looking into the eyes of hell itself? I could not stop shivering. Perhaps I was not as ready for death as I had first expected…

"Don't get excited," he told me dully, glancing back at me just for a moment before setting his sights on the doors. "This is the Prophetess's personal chamber."

"The Prophetess?"

He began down the hallway, giving me no sort of reply, the spine dragging across the floor leaving blood upon the surprisingly clean surface. I gulped slightly before timidly following. Though I was afraid, I was also aggravated. He had told me we were heading towards Keita's inner chambers, not the Prophetess's, whoever she was. The pit stop was unexpected. What could he possibly have here that was so important? Back in the tunnels, he had seemed set on finding Kage with no distractions. What could have changed that? Or… could Kage be here? I quickened my pace, no longer following, but walking beside him.

As his metallic hand rapped around the metal handle, I heard a chorus of noise beyond the decorated metal; and they were not particularly pretty. "Are you sure," I began, wanting to warn him of the possible danger, but I was too late. He had already opened the door.

What was inside, however, was not what I had expected. Instead of finding torturous machines, screaming bodies, and blood seeping through the cracks in the floor, I was faced with a glorious, spacious room. It had a grand hall sort of eloquence, formed in a wide pentagon, the arches reaching high. The metal was polished to perfection and, if it was not for the bloodied, ragged men that crowded the room, I would have been able to see myself. Hundreds of maddened, bloodshot eyes burned into my skin, their expressions ones of lust and zeal. Luckily, I was not the only surprised one. Though he showed no emotion, I knew the panther had not exactly been expecting this either.

Amber eyes flickered to each side, locating each visible member of the mass carefully. Then, with a disapproving scowl, he stepped forward, making the notion that he wanted through. The men, even in their crazed state, still parted. He moved forward, heading towards the middle of the room while being watched by little, betty eyes. I followed slowly, my eyes fleeting in panic as the bodies closed in. Their breath smelt of corpses, their bodies of waste and blood. One, a lanky, yet intimidating tiger, reached out for my hair, but metal claws dug into my arm, dragging me forward.

The crowd closed in, restricting our path in a circle made of living bodies. Before us stood a jackal, a smirk placed upon bloodstained lips, his body covered in torn, grey rags. "Hello, General," he greeted menacingly. "Glad you could join us."

The panther's eyes narrowed significantly, signaling his annoyance. Instead of giving a greeting, however, he asked his question as though the appearance of these men had not bothered him at all. "Where is the Prophetess?"

"Don't you wonder why we're here?" the jackal asked, his voice raised a pitch in questioning. "What has happened to your compassion for your men, General? Is it true, what they say? Have you really given it all to a _dead_ man?"

The silence settled, its weight pushed onto the panther. His voice lowered, lip curled revealing yellow, imbrued canines, restating his question. "The Prophetess, Cuán."

The jackal snarled, pointing to the panther in rage and blaring to the crowd, "Do you not see? Do you not see that yer precious General has abandoned you?" The masses moved forward but pushed back with a death glare from the General. Cuán lowered his twisted finger, chuckling lightly, his frown flipping to a slight smirk. "It's all right, General. Only a matter of time before you lost it like everybody else." Though his face portrayed confidence, he still took a step back when the panther gripped the loose spine. "It doesn't matter; not now. The Prophetess has given us clear passing." He twitched, his smirk growing to a grin. "We're finally free!"

The crowd bellowed, smacking sharpened bones against each other in triumph. He stared at them in disgust and, though it was not apparent at first glance, disappointment. Mumbling below his breath, he drew in several shocked eyes, Cuán's in particular. "What?" the jackal asked in surprise. With his question, the crowd began to quiet down, their eyes locked onto the General.

"I said," the panther replied viciously, "you are all as ignorant as the rat."

"You compare us to that fiend?"

"He is foolish enough to believe false prophets."

A stunned, boiling silence loomed, engulfing us and settled itself. While Cuán fumed, the mass lowered their arms, staring blankly at their both of their leaders in waiting. Then, in a growl more than a voice, the panther commanded, "Go back to the Cells!"

There was an uproar of protest, the crowd becoming more willing to argue the panther's authority. His glares no longer silenced them, but the hollow sound of the long, dangling spine did. "Rather you die from starvation or madness than stupidity."

As Cuán and a few other prisoners opened their mouths to object, images of fiery landscapes, littered with the bodies of millions, covered with creatures of darkest Hell flashed through before my eyes. The Prophetess had no plans of freeing them; she was disposing of them. They would be ripped limb from limb the moment they reached the mouth of the mines. Making the sign of the cross, praying that I would not be overrun, I inhaled and screamed, "STOP!" Before the sound had a chance to die, I continued, afraid to set my eyes on any of the angry prisoners. "You cannot go out there; it's a trap! Right now, thousands upon thousands upon millions of Keita's troops are-are disposing of what is left of Mobius." I gained the courage to look up, facing the eyes of each of the men and women surrounding me. Their gazes, though focused, seemed somewhere else. I continued on despite. "There is no longer a sun, no water, no trees – there's nothing out there!" Tears brimmed my eyes. I was fully admitting it; admitting that the world, my world, was falling apart. "The only thing it looks like now is _this!" _I motioned, arms spread wide, to Babylon. I paused, taking a moment to realize the intensity of what I had just said. There was silence. Closing my eyes, taking one deep breath at a time, I declared, "Pray ye sinners; the Apocalypse has come."

I was answered with laughter. "You regard us as fools!" the jackal cried, speaking loudly above the mocking crowd. "We no longer give care to the affairs of the outside world. They have abandoned us and now we abandon them." I glanced to the panther in the hope of support but found he was no longer listening. Instead, amber eyes were slightly widened in realization. I understood his surprise when the jackal announced, bellowing into the crowd, "This day we are set free from this hideous world to live with Lord God, our Master, in Paradise!" He was greeted by a cheer so strong that it rattled the walls.

The urge to scream, rage, and even fight overcame me as I watched the hundreds of demented souls praise a blasphemous god, but my legs were too weak to move me, my jaw too loose to speak. The General, disappointment in his features, lowered his head, his metallic ears bending back in solemn, yet respectful mourning. He already considered them dead.

"Gentiles(2) will be destroyed by the Fires of Judgment," Cuán proclaimed, "and the world will become anew!"

And though his words were met by a joyous ovation, screams of pleasure and pain were mixed in between. Glancing around, hoping to find their hideous origins, I instead stumbled upon their even more repugnant cause. The prisoners were melting. Black acid ate through their dehydrated skin, encasing the slop they slowly became in a grayish-black stone. The room smelt of decaying flesh, burning blood; and sounded of a crowded execution chamber. Instead of shrieks of despairing pain, however, they were cries of praise to a _lord_ that only laughed. Turning forward, I had wanted to see some relief from the death, but found that acid leaked through the jackal's eyelids, deteriorating his pupils and leaving scarred tears on his cheeks before coating him in Death's stone.

Without thinking, I dropped my hammer in disgusting, gripping the panther's metallic arm with sweaty fingers. Screwing my eyes shut, I wished the images of the decaying bodies away, but the darkness in dreadful harmony with their screams illustrated worse pictures – my friends, instead of the _worshippers_, as the subjects.

The screams escalated, rattling my head with their high-pitch and intensity, but then cut out to reveal an eerie silence. The aftereffect left my mind numb, their ghostly shrieks still echoing quietly, but I then returned to reality, the sound of my laboured breath and the clashing of grayish-black pebbles against the metal floor the only in existence. Cracking open my left eye, I hazily saw the scene before me. The parishioners were distorted, skeletal statues, their mouths wide, eye sockets visible, and hands lifted towards the heavens. My fingers trembled against the panther's metallic arm, reminding me that I had been foolish enough to touch him. I released him, my hands jerking away as though his arm was burning. I glanced up at him, hoping he was not preparing the spine to break my neck, but instead he was staring out upon the statues void of emotion.

"I'm…" I muttered hoarsely, trying to find the appropriate words. To earn the title of 'general' must have meant he was their leader, their savoir. "…sorry."

"They were blind," he told me, his voice dull. "They could no longer see that it was their 'Lord God' who put them here."

A pleased snigger echoed, its sound weaving through the statues and chilling my spine. "Oh, General," the voice said, its morbid delight apparent, "you never fail to amuse me. Blind is hardly the word to describe them. They have seen the light, after all these years, and have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our new God. They will be _thoroughly _rewarded." It was said with such sarcasm that her words were like a cruel joke. "It would have been just absolutely precious," the enigma added smoothly, "if you had joined them."

Looking beyond the scorched sculptures, I saw a circular podium raised high to overlook the room, and upon the delicate, white futon with black satin sheets was the Prophetess. She was, however, quite different from what I had imagined her. Instead of being one of Keita's hideous creations, she was a white wolf dressed in beautiful, violet robes. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, held by two bloodstained, skeletal fingers, the joints stiff and fingernails attached. Her face, adorning smooth but vicious pale purple eyes, was painted with red and black decorations, outlining her eyelids thickly and trialing in swirls across her bony cheeks. She was lean, healthy (unlike the other subjects here), and almost fragile, but she had a viciousness to her that made her appear powerful and fatal.

"Fleur," the panther muttered below his breath, his lip curled in distaste.

She smirked, revealing gory canines. "Abiram."

Abiram? The name was familiar. Where had I heard it before? Revelation hit me hard. I looked up to him, mouth agape, and cried, "Abiram? Rais Abiram?" Amber eyes peered down at me, eyebrows slightly raised in curiosity. _"Slacks?"_

He growled, baring his teeth. "Don't call me that."

Though he looked ready to straggle me, I could not help but smile. Soran and Kage would be ecstatic to see him. Why, they thought he was dead! Wait… he might think that Soran is too. I was just about to tell him of the cougar when a flash of purple caught the corner of my eye. The Prophetess was standing, a light frown upon her grave features. "I congratulate you on your findings, Rose," she said, sputtering my last name as though it was a sin, "but Abiram and I have more important matters to discuss."

Rais' eyes hardened as he asked, "Where is Keir?" He was on his own schedule; he had no time for her 'important matters.'

"I do not know who you speak of," Fleur replied with a slender smirk.

"Fine," the panther snarled, seeing through her antics, "where is Keita?"

Her eyes flared. "You bastard! How dare you address our Master by his name!"

"Your master, not mine. I'll ask you one more time: where are they? I don't care which you supply. Where one is the other is sure to follow."

"Master currently resides on his throne awaiting his guests," she replied after a moment of silence, casting out the information as though we should have known it before. A ting of amusement lit her face. "As for Milord… he's in the next room. Unfortunately, you won't be getting that far."

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Ero's POV

"Oh please, come on, Ero! I promise they've been washed."

My jaw clammed shut in disgust, I watched through squinted eyes as the cougar tilted his head back with a grin and dropped a bloodshot eyeball – lens, retina, optic nerve, and all – into his mouth, chewing it with loud, cryptic pleasure before swallowing and licking his lips. He paid no mind that he had stretched his legs onto the table, each plank soaked in dried blood; and hung his toes over clay bowls full of organs, bones, and other fleshy oddities. His sluggish position in the chair told that, to him, this place was like home; a normality for him. As for me, I was in an entirely different world.

I was not sure why we were here. After the death of the first Executioner, our path had been free of enemies, allowing us to travel safely to wherever we pleased. Soran had informed me that he indeed knew the way to Keita's throne room, the madman's most likely location, but insisted that we make a quick detour along the way. I was not sure what I had been expecting from such a side trip, but this was most definitely not it. We sat across from each other of a large, circular table surrounded by several wooden chairs, all of which were far too large for the normal person. _Treats, _as the cougar had called them, filled most of the table's surface in red, clay bowls, dyed by the immense amount of blood swirling within. The walls were decorated with aging skeletons, their limbs chained with hanging iron shackles. The place gave me the feeling of discomfort, but it was not the scenery. It was, perhaps, because I was sitting here with the cougar, forced into conversation.

The moment I first laid eyes upon him in the King's throne room only a few weeks ago, I knew he was hiding something. The way he looked at Kage, fathered him; the way he spoke to us, always with riddles and misleading words. Assuming it was something large, though his secrets were, I had interpreted them to be sinister. I kept a close eye upon him during those first couple weeks. I had taken the worst possible scenario and stuck with it: he was working with Keita. It was odd to think, looking back upon it, that as I accused him of befriending the person who condemned his closest friend to death, he never did deny it. Kage did, most certainly, and even Tails put in a good word, but the cougar had simply laughed, causing my hatred for him to run even deeper. I had been so determined to bring him down.

Then that day, only hours before Keita's true identity was discovered, he rushed headlong into battle with a blazing sword and was the first of us to harm the madman physically. And though he told us his story of Hell and conspiracy, he was still hiding something. No longer was his secret sinister, or perhaps it had never been my business, but I knew it. He picked his words too carefully, never allowing serious conversations to burn too long, always speaking gibberish in others.

Yes, Soran was indeed hiding something, but it was the something that I never wanted to figure out. It was forbidden ground. Never meant to be said; never to be discussed. It was there to be pondered about but never cracked open. There are places a man was not allowed to go and others a man never wanted to tread; his secret was both.

"Well, if you aren't going to try the eyes," the cougar said, setting the bowl neatly onto the table, "than at least have something else." Searching the table with a keen eye, he snatched at another, leaned over the table, and presented it. "Ears? They're chewy yet tender all at once!"

_Personal matters **–**_ that was what he had told me. We had taken this detour for his own agenda. As I stared down at the stripped, dog ears bobbing in thick, silky blood, I could hardly call this gourmet an important, personal matter. Instead of taking one as he had insisted, I asked, "What are we doing here?"

He pulled the ears away, slumping back in his seat and laughing while discarding it along with the other bowls. "You always have been straight to the point, haven't you, Ero?" He clicked his long nails against the wood, the sound dull and light. "I simply thought you would enjoy the selection," he said with a grin. "After all, you were so interested in the cow liver Ber gave you."

My eyes narrowed. "You must be kidding me." Bringing someone to a table full of disgusting, vile body parts was not a good idea of a joke, especially with the world ending just outside. Now thinking about it, it was a very Kage thing to do.

"Joking is a state of mind. Even the funniest thing could be serious, and the gravest detail a laughing matter."

"I hate it when you do that," I told him.

"Do what?" The bastard knew what I was speaking of. With a grin like that, there was no way he could not of.

"Do that! Your stupid, little philosophies that never make sense and how you go grinning like an idiot afterwards. It's annoying."

There was a pause involving my angry face and his thoughtful one. Finally he leaned forward, pressing his hands against his chin and his elbows against the table, and asked, "Does it really?" His lackadaisical beam returned, bloodstained teeth glistering with the torch light. "Why, that makes it all the better!"

While evaluating the consequences of reaching across the table and wringing his neck, I slouched in my chair with a frown upon my face. "What are we really doing here, Soran?" He would not drag me here just to taste some food; Soran was a more sophisticated man than that. While he might get some fun out of shoving bowls of disgusting concoctions in my face, he had a greater agenda to fulfill. Unfortunately, I no longer knew what that agenda contained.

Shifting the weight of his head to one hand, he began to click his fingers against the table absentmindedly, as though he was avoiding the question. "I guess," he said finally, staring at his moving fingers, "I owe you the truth… or at least _a _truth." His narrowed eyes met mine. "I am here for revenge."

I grasped the armrests of my chair, pushing myself into a straight position. I was not surprised. Our time together had taught me that Soran was the kind of person who did not take much offense, but when he did, he was deadly. I knew that I should object to this. Over the years, I had learned the consequences of such a mindset. It was an unprofitable business – a tree that carries no fruit; but I really had no room to talk. I came into Babylon not for justice, not for the world, not even for my life, but for revenge. And anyway, even if I could oppose without him making a complete ass out of me, the look in his eye told me not to.

"You see, this room," he motioned, arms spread wide, to the scenery surrounding us, "is one of the many in the living corridors of the Messengers; or more importantly in our case, the room of the particular one we're looking for."

I shifted, taking my eyes off the rotting gray rabbit that happened to be hanging just behind Soran, and looked amongst the 'food' in mild interest. "Which particular one is this?" I knew that after the Executioner, nothing could take us down except Keita. I was not worried for safety here in this room. I was much more worried about our safety _there _wherever that madman was. I dipped my finger in one of the bowls and began to write on the table absentmindedly with the blood to take my mind off of it.

"Their leader," he replied casually with a smirk broad enough to show his canines, "Gruul."

"Ah." I should have known he was going for the biggest of the bunch; no one ever goes after the little guy. I glanced down sordidly at my scribbling, wiping it away with the palm of my hand, allowing the wet blood to cover my dirty, black hand and splatter onto the floor.

I had once heard from a very smart man that revenge and vengeance were very different things. "Revenge," he had told me, "is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged." I had never comprehended the quote. The two were synonyms, so closely related that there was barely a difference, but he had set them apart to the point that they did not seem connected at all. Were we seeking revenge here or vengeance? I knew by asking Soran I would be voluntarily dragging myself into a philosophical conversation, but perhaps this once it would be worth it. So I asked him.

His smirk disappeared, replaced by a thoughtful frown. He straightened himself up a bit, his feet pushing against the table top, but did not remove his legs. "Revenge and vengeance," he said quietly, calculating, "are… so entirely different that they are almost the same. You seek them for dissimilar reasons. Revenge is selfish, brutal; vengeance, on the other hand, is noble and supported. Pursuing them, however, always ends up to be nasty business; selfish or not. By the end they are so similar that you cannot tell them apart." He reached across the table for a cup, grasping it and examining its contents. "So believe what you wish about it, Ero. While others may define your actions as one or the other, it's your opinion." Taking a sip, he looked me straight in the eye. "Ask yourself this question and then decide. Do you pursue it because of obsessive love or obsessive hate?"

I had never thought of it that way. Was I here because I hated Keita that much, or was I here to ensure Kage and everyone else's happiness?

"When I said I was here for revenge," the cougar told me, breaking my concentration, "I meant it." He slouched, looking to the ceiling while swirling his clay cup slowly and idly. "I love my friend, you must realise that. I love him as much as a friend can(3); but I hate his killers more." He glanced to me with light, crazed eyes before asking, "Does that make me an evil man?"

I was not sure. I had been taught that anyone who did a deed with dark intentions was bad. Then again, I have been taught many things and most of them have been proven false. My entire moral system was being tested. I looked at life in a much different way.

With a shake of his head, he laughed. "Of course not. There is no such thing as good and evil. They are merely terms to explain what we cannot understand." He flashed a grin, much different from his happy-go-lucky ones. "All that has ever existed is hatred. We live on the same rock."

His comment baffled me. If only hatred was real, where was love? I then realised that love was simply the lack of hatred.

"This leads us to question _Lord_ Keita, does it not? Should his conquest be considered vengeance because of his clear obsession with Kage?" He pushed himself up, his legs falling sloppily off the table while his eyes were fogged with thought. "Or revenge because of his hate for everything but? These are the questions you ask yourself, Ero, at the end of all things."

Suddenly everything seemed to connect. The prisoners, cougar, Kage, and Keita… everything they had ever said to me swirled around in my head, the puzzle piecing itself together bit by bit. And when I was presented the final product, I was less than happy. I stood up in haste, anger filling me through the core as I pushed over the chair and grasped the table edge with white knuckles. "You knew, didn't you?"

He cocked an eyebrow. No smile alit his face, only a delicate frown. "Knew what, Ero? I know many things so you must be specific."

"Keita. You knew it was Keita the entire time, didn't you?"

When we had visited the prisoners, they called the madman Master, not Mistress. They would have been stumbling over calling Keita such things if they had thought he was Shikyo. The chimp… when I said the Watcher's name, he freaked. Why would the name give him any fear? And the cougar… he had not surprised at all when the news had come that Keita was Shikyo.

His eyes narrowed significantly. "Oh please, Ero, do not throw all the blame upon me. The Chao knew, too."

My mouth opened and closed several times on its own accord, surprise running across my face. "Meep?"I finally asked. He must be joking. When he made no indication to grin, however, I realised he was completely serious. "Why the hell didn't he tell?"

"Would you have listened?"

I bent my ears back in defeat. If he had tried to inform me of such matters, I would have laughed. Everyone would have. The cougar, however, was much more believable. After a few minutes of joking around, I would have realised he was telling the truth… "Why didn't you say anything," I asked quietly.

He put down his cup, but still held the brim through light fingers. "I am not a spiritualist, Ero. If I had known that his identity made a difference, I would have said so the moment we met." There was sincerity in his voice, allowing me to believe him. He looked away from me. "If it didn't matter, though, I was not going to subject Keir to it. You wouldn't of, would you?"

No. If I had been him, I would not have said a word. "You didn't have to act like such a fool," I laughed, recalling all the times we confronted him.

"Ah… no man has to act like a fool. He's always been one."

I wanted to reply with perhaps a witty comment myself, but the doors were flung open, revealing one of the ugliest creatures I had ever seen. But my attention was caught by Soran who held a murderous, wild glint in his eye and he said, "Welcome, Gruul. Hope we aren't interrupting anything."

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Tails' POV

My hands grasped the cold, golden handles, fingers wrapping along the bases and covered in soot and blood. I peered towards the ceiling, looking upon the long, double doors and the rocky cave above. I had been foolish enough to believe I might have seen the sky. Shaking my head slightly, returning myself to the reality at hand, I pushed, making my dramatic entrance. Determined, I gazed upon the throne which sat my nightmare with a smirk.

"Hello, Keita."

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1) _Said in Chapter 53 right after Kage was told about Keita and left the room.  
_

2) _The definition of gentile is as followed:_

**Gentile **(_jen-tahyl_) (adjective – I'm skipping this, noun)

A person who is not Jewish, esp. a Christian

(among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon.

a heathen or pagan

_In this, the third expression is possible, but a pagan or heathen doesn't believe in a god at all and these people believe Keita is the one and only god (making them monotheistic, though in more of a cultish-fashion). For the full understanding of what Cuán and the prisoners (or maybe now worshippers) are saying, use the second definition but instead put something about Keita, such as this: "a person who does not believe in Keita." So hooray! Everyone who is a gentile is going to die… and now seeing this, even if you believe, you're going to die anyway. Oh well, nice knowing you, Keita worshippers. _

3) _Just to make this clear to everybody here – Soran loves Rais as a **friend. **I know that's what that sentence said, but some will take this out of context. If you want to believe they are together, go right ahead. It was not intended that way, but if you really want to, that's totally cool with me. But for anyone who is already extremely angry about the one sided Keita/Kage, you don't need to alert me of this because Soran and Rais are **friends. **Soran happens to love his daughter and wife a lot. Have a nice read! _

The chapter in which Tails makes his entrance, Ero and Soran discuss the properties of fools, deceit, and misunderstanding, Amy discovers a long-lost general, and Keita finally enters the picture – in actual blood and flesh! Isn't it amazing? Finally after sixty-two bloody chapters, you actually _see _the bad guy. Why are you reading this?

_The thing to ignore:_ First, this chapter in general. I know it was not very exciting (other than the deaths of the prisoners maybe), but this was like the calm-before-the-storm chapter. Next time there will be lots and lots of bloodshed and the particular conversation about the thinning line between brilliance and madness.

The next chapter will be out on September 16. No joke. So look out for that.

Hoping you did not go blind reading this,

Kelsey


	64. The Overview

Darkest Before Dawn  
The Overview

Hello and many greetings. Right about this point you might be wondering where the hell is the next chapter, and fortunately for you, you are going to figure out in the next sentence. The next chapter will not be here until mid-December. Que the imaginary gasps. You all knew it was coming. My work ethic is horrible, I know, and I really need to get crackin' on Darkest Before Dawn because it is almost over! I can't believe it either. I'm hoping to end it with an even seventy chapters, so we only have around eight (including chapter 63 which, yes I know, was supposed to come out over a month and a half ago. Completely my fault.) NaNo season calls, however, and 50,000 words of something totally obscure must be written.

But in times like these when I wonder how the hell I am going to write 50,000 words in a month, I remember all of you, who are so supportive of this fan fiction which I am incredibly thankful for. A toast to you!

Saying this, I would like to help you. Over the past few months I have gotten several emails with people telling me their respective theories about several different subjects: Keita's archenemy (the person who revealed his identity to Tails) and who will win, Tails and co. or Keita. Both are big plot events to be learned. So what I would like to do now is give an overview of the fan fiction so far, from beginning to end. While this will probably not reveal both answers, it might give you a lead on where to look. So here is the overview (which will show you how pathetic this fan fiction really was at the beginning):

* * *

_Darkest Before Dawn begins in Ms. Eagle's cozy math room, where Tails and Amy are both taking Algebra I tests. Do not ask me exactly how Tails does not know area problems when his a genius, I really don't know, I didn't do my research at the time (as stated several times before, I've only played the really old Sega Genesis games and later thirty minutes of Shadow, which was not surprisingly a bad game), but he engages with the mysterious voice Shikyo while doing so. He ends up with a 104 degree temperature from the encounter, prompting Sonic to rush over to his school and get him. Sonic also has a quick chat with Shikyo, but it was not really important, so we will skip it. Tails' temperature goes down and Sonic takes him home (see how mediocre this is?) _

_Meanwhile, Knuckles is coming home from his daily job of protecting the Master Emerald (I'm surprised I actually called it the right name – point proven that you should never rely on other fan fictions for research) and _he _has a chat with Shikyo. The only reason his is important is because Shikyo makes him turn on the tele to see that Eggman is, in fact, dead. _

_He calls Sonic, who makes him call everyone else, and he and Tails go over to Eggman's lab to see how in the world someone could succeed with killing the fat man when they couldn't. The result is the lab collapses, everyone disappears (other than Amy, who was still in class at the time), and Tails ends up in a forest in Hatsu where he was unconscious for… eh, around ten days. _

_Tails and Shikyo have yet again another conversation, but instead of falling into a high temperature coma, he meets up with Captain Little, head of the last troop alive in the forest who were looking for Shikyo and her troops. Tails later learns that the Queen of Hatsu was kidnapped and her guardians killed, and the first troops sent into find her were driven insane. The second set of troops underwent severe amounts of turmoil, resulting in only ten or so men left. _

_The troop and Tails go to Hatsu Kingdom (along the way killing Peterson, the first person Tails witnessed actually _die _at the hands of Shikyo) where Tails meets the King and Princess Joruri, who he becomes acquaintances with. During his time at the castle, a small town in the forest was attacked and destroyed. The important thing coming from this was the two survivors that came into the possession of Hatsu's mental asylum, one being Ero, one being Kage. Tails, the Princess, the King, and a few other people go to the asylum and witness Ero's supposed death (he was actually supposed to die and not be a character at all, but suddenly he wanted to become one, so… hence the odd birth of Ero). Then he met Kage, who ended up not only to be a survivor, but also key in the eye of Shikyo (in more ways than, ahem, one). _

_Tails then meets Meep, that wonderful little creature we all know and love, and later that morning gets kidnapped by Kage. _

_During this time, Amy discovers that the Sonic Team is gone and randomly goes searching for them. Somehow, someway, her and Kage come into contact and, though at first the black kitsune planned to kill her, ended up taking her unconsciously with him. _

_So then Tails learns that Kage and Ero (who he learns is indeed alive… somehow) are heading to Descentmet for unknown reasons (all he knows is that it has something to do with Shikyo). They go to abandoned town, Tails learns that Kage indeed went insane during the attack, Amy wakes up, and all is dandy. Sort of. Shikyo pulls a stunt with Kage to make the rest believe that he is not nearly as important to her… er, him… as they think. _

_Along their way to Kiwi, a town for some reason named after lesser known fruit that happens to be located… or at least used to be located anyway… at the base of Mount Meteor (which severely needs a better name just like Kiwi), they find the Queen, who is dead and infested with chameleons. Sucks for her. _

_They pass through Kiwi (nothing important really happens there on the way up I don't think) and go to Descentmet. In the spiritualist capital, they meet mean-old dog woman who, after hearing Kage's request to see the Watchers, allows him in. At this time no one is exactly sure why she allows him to see them, but it is later learned that Kage was closely affiliated to not only Keita Hanari, the supposedly deceased tenth Watcher, but also Ai Muraoko, his fiancé and, more importantly, Shikyo (dead wrong there, but hey, he was on the right track, right? He deserves at least some credit). _

_During this conversation, you learnt that the Watchers wanted to replace Keita with Ai (not true), and that Keita held several abilities, most importantly shape-shifting, which they thought they taught Ai (first part true, second not). Watchers blow him off, resulting in Kage's master plan to have Shikyo attack. They dress up a very unhappy Amy and send her inside. The moment the Watchers confess to something they did not actually do (damn those mind washes – they screw everyone over), the real Shikyo attacks. _

_Fighting, fighting, fighting… Tails meets up with Shadow, who is possessed by Shikyo and now working for her. They fight, Tails' horribly losses, almost dies except when Kage comes, who Shadow is much more interested in. Kage gets possessed (which was Shikyo's perfect time to say 'Okay, got my precious back, bye-bye!' but those bad guys never think of these things, do they?) and Tails and him fight (though I have no idea what happens to Ero and Amy. I would read to find out, but I'm afraid to read anything before chapter 40 because the writing style is horrendous. I'm so sorry you had to read that). Tails gets Kage back to normal with the song Nightingale (which, I've noticed, hasn't been mentioned since around this point. It will be soon though, promise). _

_Tails and co. return to Kiwi, learn that Shikyo is using Shadow to her own sick advantage, a Watcher ends up being alive, but dies after telling Kage that Keita is, in fact, alive. Of course, if they would have been smart about this, they might have realized, "Hey, why would he tell us he was alive if he was a crisp? And why would he pull the cord right afterwards? Can Watchers even die like that?" But nope. That would have ruined the whole plot, so we need oblivious characters (but we love them anyway). _

_They go to a port town (along the way Kage and Ero have a dispute, but that was not really all that important either), see that it's destroyed too (not a very good world for cities to be in these days, huh?), but find a boat to go to Mori Mura (thanks to the lovable Meep). _

_They get to Acorn, where Kage idiotically crashes the ship, and they meet up with Captain… umm… Swap-deck, I think (see how unimportant he was, too?). He explains some of Kage's and Ero's past with each other, but his main thing was to go mad and attack them with a giant fishing rod (and for Kage to be able to slice him up into tiny bits with paper from a book). But between them first meeting Swap-deck and him going totally psycho, Tails and co. catch a chameleon, which ends up being able to talk. Through this they learn that the chameleons are made out of the souls of the recently deceased (bum, bum, bum!) _

_They go to Mori Mura, where they meet up with Nekosa (who while he had a very cool death should have probably been in it longer seeing how important he actually is), and go to the Grand Elder to ask him where Keita is. Grand Elder takes them down to a cellar underneath the temple where, instead of meeting a… um, living Keita maybe… they find a burnt crisp… who is in fact Ai… but we'll get to that later. _

_Kage freaks out (who wouldn't?), Ero follows him, and Tails and Ai have a bit of a conversation (which more consisted of "KILL HIM" than anything). A few things happen after this, the important one being the introduction of Shigematsu, who later plays a great role in the War. _

_Shikyo makes her first visit, reveals her intentions of creating a perfect dreamworld (though she leaves out that little detail that only Kage and her would be in it while everyone else's soul is broken down molecule by molecule). _

_Then Mori Mura gets attacked. Hooray. Not a good few months for the spiritualist community, huh? And especially not for Tails and co. This is the second mass raid they've been in! Ero gets possessed, him and Kage fight, resulting in Nekosa throwing up all of his organs and thus dying. During this time Tails and Amy have a touching moment if that's really what you want to call it, involving giant bomb trees (only used once sadly) and lots of blood. _

_Major event in this is that Keita (Ai) was taken by Shikyo (Keita). _

_Tails and co. stay around for a week or so helping clean up the damage, but decide to go back to Hatsu. While traveling back, they discuss a few flaws in Shikyo's plan, and it is revealed that Keita is intolerant to water (major point). Upon reaching land, they are immediately taken into the custody of the Hatsu army under the guide of General Faron. They are escorted to the castle and promptly released by Princess Joruri, who ends up being a bitch. Soran is introduced and him and Ero don't hit it off that well. _

_While Ero tries to find countless ways to convict Soran, Tails and co. learn that about 25 million people have died in the raids so far, which really, really sucks. While staying up that night, Tails learns how Kage and Keita met and they both come in contact with Big, who was bringing a message that Tails later realizes is against Shikyo, not for. _

_After this, Molly (who was put in the story because I had the perfect thing for her, but it never happened! Same with Nichole. They'll be edited out next draft) drags Kage and the others with her to the dungeons, where they find a ton of dead bodies and a raccoon girl (who doesn't live for all that wrong). There's a huge argument in the throne room, which is ended by Tails. _

_The World Army is started with a conference of the countries, where Kage makes the announcement that he has a spiritualist army. He, Meep, and Nichole disappear for about a day or so, returning with a huge army led by Shigematsu, the dragon in Acorn. Around the same time, Meep finds a book written by Ai about dreamworlds, but is written in five different languages throughout (which Tails later realizes was meant to make sure no one actually read the book). Thus Atreyu, who betrayed Soran and Slacks (who helped get Kage out of Babylon), comes in as a translator. _

_But before this, the dining room is full of bodies. Kage goes off to find out who did it and convicts Princess Joruri because her wine that she loves so much is actually lemur blood. She dies. Thank god. _

_Then a Guardian, which was not supposed to be activated until the dreamworld was fifty percent complete, impersonates Amy and Soran kills it. _

_Then Shikyo comes to finally take Kage away to his… um, happy fairy land? Sure. Ero almost lets her (wasn't exactly his fault, but he should have thought _something _was up since Kage had been acting weird all day), but Soran figures out she's there and there's a huge battle which involves Ero's brain almost being ripped out and Soran almost losing his entire throat. Kage, though, is saved and Soran was able to nip Shikyo on the ear with a flaming sword. _

_Tails and co. learns of Soran's affiliation with Kage and the Theory, stating that if you didn't think about it, Shikyo didn't know about it. _

_Tails is then thrown into a flashback of the fire, where he sees that Keita is in fact Shikyo while Ai was an innocent bystander. They tell the army officials and they adapt the best they can, but they can only do so much. Shadow comes proclaiming war that dawn and invites Tails and co. to Babylon for some… casserole (Kage makes the best kind, according to him). _

_Talk, talk, talk, time to go to Babylon. They are escorted by the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog and locked into the entrance which is in the mine in Mount Meteor (should look in those obscure places, people!). Tails and co. are separated into the following groups: Tails and Meep, Kage and Amy, Ero and Soran. _

_Tails and Meep start heading towards the Machine, which Meep says he knows the way from there. Kage and Amy encounter some Guardians and learn their water-pump doesn't work, and Soran and Ero get into a fight with a bunch of raptors with their water-pump not working. Ero gets marked, meaning that he is meant to be executed by… you guessed it, the Executioners (scary buggers, those things are). _

_Tails pisses Keita off, so Keita decides to send him into psycho mood and he kills Rouge and Knuckles. Ero and Soran get caught by the Executioners at the Machine, but narrowly escape. Amy and Kage meet up with Everyone, a creature created with the scraps of failed Guardians, and Kage ends up being captured while Amy is locked in a metal room. Amy gets out and, while almost getting herself killed, meets the General (a.k.a. Rais Abiram, or Slacks). _

_Tails fights Sonic, breaking his legs in several different places, and Ero and Soran spend some time in the Cells. Amy travels with Slacks, who says that Kage is in Keita's personal chambers. _

_Tails then poses as Keita to Suriender, who leads him to the throne room. Ero and Soran kill a Executioner and Amy yet against continues following Slacks, this time into a huge tunnel. _

_And then last chapter, Tails learned that Dr. Eggman was working with Keita. Amy meets the prisoners, who go insane and kill themselves to join Keita in paradise, and learns that Slacks is indeed Slacks. And Ero learns that Soran knew of Keita the entire time. _

_At the end of that chapter, Tails entered the throne room to face Keita head-on._

* * *

And that, folks, is where we left off. Took about four and a half pages to explain – not bad for a 200,000 word story, eh? Now that we are done with that, I'm going to do another generous thing for you: I am going to give you one clue each for each of the upcoming twists. They won't be so blunt, obviously, that you'll realize it off the bat, but they will help you in your search (if you decide to search, of course. Some just sit back and wait for the answers to flutter towards them at slow speeds).

Twist One: _The conspirator against Keita who brought Tails into his dreamworld, showing him events leading up to the fire and revealing Keita's identity. _

Clue: _This person has been in the story. Could be a major character or a minor character – it could be a character that has just been mentioned, but never made an actual appearances. However, you have at least heard of this person so you aren't completely in the blue or anything._

Twist Two: _The survival of Tails and company or the victory of Keita. (Yes, this has already been determined!) _

Clue: _To read between the lines is smart, but to read the actual lines means brilliance. _

Now that we've got that all cleared up, I have one last thing to ask of you if you would be so kind. I have a few questions below here that I would like you to answer. It will help me to understand where you are in the story, your opinions, and how much detail I need to go into for the final chapters. Your help will be greatly appreciated. I would like this to be submitted in review form, but if your answers end up being too long for one (which I would hope, but they obviously do not have to be), then email is fine. It's on my main page. Thank you very much!

1. After reading so far, do you believe Keita's reasons for a perfect dreamworld are justified? Why? And do you believe he is gaining this goal for revenge (obsessive hate) or vengeance (obsessive love)?

2. Who do you believe is behind Tails' visions of Keita's past? Do you believe it is one person or multiple people? Do you believe this person to be even more important than he/she is at the moment?

3. After reading so far, what are your views on obsession? Seeing that it is the main conversation of the story, do you believe that there is such thing as pure obsession, or is all obsession tainted? Do you believe that Keita's obsession for perfection is legitimate?

4. Who do you, honestly, think should be victorious, Tails and company or Keita? Why?

5. And finally, a question out of curiosity: how did you find this story? Did you just randomly find it on the list one day and say, "Hey, that looks somewhat decent," or did you hear about it some other way?

Sorry to put you through all that, but again, your replies would be greatly appreciated. And please, don't report me for not posting an actual chapter. I know you wouldn't, but I'm begging to the people who might. Thanks again!

See you sometime in December,

Kelsey


	65. Chapter 63

Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 63

"_Love that is not madness is not love." – Pedro Calderon de la Barca_

Tails' POV

I was once told me that death is like a slumber. There is no pain or suffering – just a cold numbness that chills you to the bone. Another told me that life flashes before your eyes. A collage of flying colors: a slideshow of every triumph, every mistake, every moment of love, every second of hate. It is funny how mistake seems to conquer triumph, the moment of hate more memorable than love. Is there time to repent? Is there a moment to declare your guilt as you see every flaw you have ever made play out... is there any point to being sorry at all?

I had never been on the verge of death, but the moment I saw Keita, I knew I was going to die. As the stench of rotting corpses, hanging off the walls encased in precious diamond, arose; crackling like that of Hell's fire swept across the eerie silence; and stale air bit my chapped lips, I knew death was nothing like a slumber. And as I stared upon the face and smirk of Judgment, I knew no collage ever passed my sight. Death here was not going to be quick – it was going to be suffocation.

It would not have been as bad, I guess, if he had not looked just like me.

There were notable differences between Keita and I, enough that we could be told apart, but the similarities were endless. He was tall, gaunt, his hair muddled and his structure fragile. A dark tangerine on the verge of light vermillion, his fur contrasted his heavy, white leather robe, the hood broad enough to cover both his head and shoulders. Connected with a thick, gold band adorned with jewels, the hood was held together with a circular, azure pendent. Hung loosely around his shoulder lied a silk, cerulean stole, lined with gleaming gold with the imprint of the Watchers' white eagle at each end. Around his forehead was a golden headband, precious sapphires engraved into its base. At first glance, he could be mistaken as a cowardly royal in his fancy clothes and fragile state, but his cobalt eyes, the shadows playing across their hard features, held a tinge of power and a hint of lunacy.

Perched divinely upon his raised, skeletal throne, Keita was no longer a mocking voice in my head or the fragment of my imagination; instead, he was a living, breathing person whose life I could not deny – a revolution that made my stomach churn in fear. Despite the sensation of the cool metal of the gun brushing against my fingertips, going down fighting even became impossible. He could kill me in the blink of an eye – he always could of. Keita, however, was a lecturing man. His demented cause was too important to simply let me die without understanding, without grasping it and, perhaps, calling it my own. I had little time.

"Miles, Miles," he greeted joyously with a mocking grin, "how nice of you to join me at the beginning of all things. You didn't run into too much trouble, did you?" He sniggered when I growled, baring my teeth. "Oh, are you still upset over the bat and the echidna? I thought you would have been quite over _that _by now." He twirled his goblet but ignored the bloody contents. "But the irony of it, Miles! The irony! Their so-called leader dragging them screaming to their deaths and one of their closest friends committing the deed. Absolutely priceless!"

Tightening my grip on the gun handle, I took a few haggard breaths to keep my composure. It was obvious he wanted me to make the first move. An advantage on my side, perhaps, but more of one on his. He has been running the show before I even entered the room.

"But we should not spend our precious time together talking about such ridiculous things!" Leaping off his bony throne, he bounded down a step with a newly found energy, his eyes flashing with crazy excitement, his arms spread wide in presentation of himself. "Voilà! Here, now, is the long awaited Apocalypse of the old world and the creation of the new; and what a better place to be but in Babylon, which built its walls with mounting sin, washes away its worries with bittersweet crimson, and hoods itself from even the veil of darkest night – the welcoming home of the Mystery, Queen of Babylon, Mother of the Prostitutes, and the Ultimate Sinner, who committed adultery with every king and provided the merchants with dirty profits. Upon the blasphemous beast of Satan she rides, the broken world a mere pebble in her fingertips, her evil tainting the land and straggling its creatures, both mortal and celestial, to damnation. She believes herself to walk amongst the gods!

"It is her sins, stacked high upon the heavens, combine with this world's filth, that purification must come! She will be burned with fire and her flesh eaten by the dogs of Hell! Then the Lamb of God, upon his mighty stallion, shall ride, bringing forth the New Jerusalem."

He lowered himself a step, arms spread wider. "But alas, the God of Israel is dead! And who else to take his place but one of equal power? Before you and this imperfect world stands the new Jehovah, Father, Messiah, and Yahweh! The new Mystery, who builds His Babylon with brutal justice, ridding the world of the imperfection in which the lesser god has made. Behold – with the death of the unworthy Queen of this modern, pitiful world and the massacre, justified divinely, of her followers will bring forth a perfect world! The Tree of Life shall rise into the heavens, the sins of this world represented by but a bushel of dead, black roses, never to be revived.

"And for what? A love, forbidden by this wasted earth, justified by the vicissitudes of Fate and I divine. Cloaked in geranium – the representation of absolute hate, absolute love, peace, passion, and possession – he alone shall be seated at My right hand, and We shall reign upon the earth with justice and _perfection!"_

"You're sick," I told him with a growl, his speech interrupted by the rattling of my revolver's cylinder.

"Oh, but my dear Miles, you do not understand! I have never felt so alive, so energized." He paused, catching his breath before continuing on. "But if your question pertains to my sanity, allow me to make an observation of the truest kind: yours is not in the best of shape either, is it not?" He bared his canines as he grinned, revealing fresh blood. "There was barely a line, with your apparent intelligence, to cross before, but it has been thinned and bended so completely, so utterly, that soon there will be… not such difference… at all."

"You aren't fazing me, Keita," I stated angrily. The slightest sensation like that of Rouge's beating heart brushed across my fingertips causing me to shiver.

He fell back into his throne, straightening his posture immediately to loom over me. "Whatever do you mean? I am simply stating a fact. Any fool can be crazy, but it takes a true gentleman to be insane." His eyes darkened slightly, his smile fading into a delicate frown as he tapped his fingers almost nervously – angrily – against his armrests. "_She _called me crazy," he growled, glancing to his left, to the wall covered in stones and bodies. "But what did that bitch know? Nothing!" He glanced back to me in a state of almost paranoia though he was grinning like before. "You see, Miles, the current Mystery is terribly annoying. She believes that lunacy is a _sickness. _What a horribly inaccurate girl, what a truly disgusting thing! Only the insane have the strength to prosper; only those who prosper may judge was it truly sane.

"I personally regard myself as a genius, a master of the art of ideals – who acts instead of ponders his days away. The thoughts of a useless man, a useless idealist nevertheless, has never helped a soul." With a smirk lighting his features, he stretched his neck to stare further down at me. "You were raised by several of them, were you not? Ones that regarded the world as black and white – where good and evil exist indefinitely and the hero always conquers the villain – people that are, or should I say _were, _stupid enough to believe in fairytales?" He lightly closed his eyes, waving his hand passively with a hint of disgust in his features. "Inferior qualities. Ones that no longer exist – never have, in fact. I am overjoyed to know that I have beaten such… terrible ideals out of Kage's head."

Before I could reply, he continued, "How does it feel, Miles – all these years of wasted brilliance? Or perhaps you would like to call it fallow insanity? Whatever tickles your fancy, but I personally would rather you use the term brilliant. Soon you will be regarding the world in a fashion similar to Kage, but not nearly as clearly." He tilted his head slightly, seeing me in a new light. "But you and I are so very much alike. Perhaps you have already figured it on your own."

Though I wanted to deny it, yell at his face and declare he and I were nothing alike and never would be, a prominent voice in my head agreed with him. Of all the horrifying things I have heard and seen since the moment of Eggman's demise, that declaration dominated. I felt the need to separate us, rid myself of the similarities, arose. "You're a hypocrite. You consider yourself to be the All Knowing, but you know nothing! You built an empire with nine other men, isolated yourself from the modern world then destroy it along with your own creation. How can such a thing be justified? How could divinity possibly overlook such a flaw as its own empire that you built with your own two hands? Can you even compare our two worlds? You've been spending so much time in your own that you have barely paid attention to the modern world – to your own spiritualist world." I chuckled at the expression of distaste on his face. "You're not brilliant, Keita, and I'm not going to give you insane. Ai was right. You're just crazy."

His mood darkened dangerously. I thought I had trapped him into a deep enough hole for him to make the first, and perhaps stupid, move, but the slight smirk returned to his face as he laughed right back. "Please, Miles. You really believe that I know nothing of the modernist world, that filthy place? I stand to disagree. Modernists act like spoiled children – they start wars of the grandest kind for oil, land, and other insignificant things. Their sinful nature polluted everything – even those isolated from it. They have ruined their own world. But now – but now, don't you see, they are actually fighting for their own lives! It must be such a pleasant, new experience! Do they even know how?" He shook his head. "No-o, its too perplexing of a circumstance. They will fade like everything else."

"And you call _your _motive justified?" I asked in distaste. "You're waging a full-scale war because of some obsession you have for someone who wants you _dead." _

Keita snapped, baring his bloodied teeth and his voice shook the room, "How dare you say I am obsessed! Obsession is for fools; obsession is how _she _defines my love." He silenced momentarily, his lips curving into a dissatisfactory scowl and his eyes darkening to a dangerous degree. He then grinned, chuckling below his breath. "Love that is not madness is not love. Obsession is not madness, it is foolery."

Seeing his paranoia, his weakness, in that second gave me an idea. "I cannot blame you," I told him slyly, ignoring his last statement. He and I knew what I was about to say, the play I was about to give, was fake – but his paranoia would not allow him _not _to take action. "Kage is a beautiful thing. Worthy of a king – a lord, a god – to be sure. It must, however, be hard for him… to be in the middle of so many conflicting feelings." A deep frown developed on Keita's features, his ears still bent. "I mean, it must be even harder for you, who loves him to such a degree, to share him with so many people." I fiddled almost absentmindedly with the handle of my gun as I stated, "You obviously have been so understanding… despite all the eyes that were upon him during his stay at the castle. I never thought of you as… the sharing type – especially when it comes to him."

Keita was panicked. He looked around wildly, licking his lips; but when he addressed me before I could continue, his voice was unwavering, ruthless. "Do not step out of your boundaries, boy. Take the bitch as your example of your consequence."

From the look on his face – crazed eyes, eager hands, and bloodily canines – I wanted to silence myself, but in that moment I realized that there were no longer consequences. "If you would have paid more attention to the castle, you would have heard what the soldiers said about him behind his back." They had talked about all of us at one point or another, but Kage had been their main topic of conversation. Soran had put an end to that quickly. "Your own slave, the Princess of Hatsu, even lusted after him. Just think about what the soldiers had said… think about what _we all_ thought! Corner him in a room, much like you had, put our grimy little fingers –!"

I cast my eyes heavenward towards his empty throne. My sweaty fingers gripped the handle of the revolver, readying for a shot as I launched myself off the muddled ground and into the air. The raw adrenaline the coursed through my body lead me to pure instinct, much like my taunting led him to his. With no time to think, I had forgotten to calculate his speed, place his unnatural abilities; as my tails rotated to kick me into the air, to a vantage point, his claw ripped into my chest and the revolver was tugged forcefully out of my fist. I choked on my breath, barely hissing when he dug into my back, trailing my spine. "He's _mine, _you understand me? _Mine, mine, mine!" _I forced myself out of his grip, flipping myself around to face him, but he caught my throat, strangling me as his fingernails pierced the sensitive flesh. The disgusting stench of sweat and blood filled my nostrils as I desperately attempted to breathe. Keita's eyes were flaring, the torch flames casting shades over the intense irises, the dilated pupils. I could almost taste death in the air. "Just like her. _Just like her! _Blind!" His face pulled back slightly, panicked. "She brainwashed you - that little bitch!" Blood rolled down my body formatting a puddle on the floor as he shook me furiously. "Just like Kage!" At the mention of his name, Keita's eyes grew wide. "He's _mine! _You may possess my second body, boy, but he's _mine!" _His claws sunk into my face as he levered us against the steps to his throne and smashed my skull against the stone. My vision faded upon the second impact. The rough surface of the stair scratched into my temple and grinded against the bone. Loss of all sensation by the third strike. Upon the last, I could only hear his manic rumblings and, in the distance, my mother singing lullabies.

* * *

Ero's POV 

Gruul was more fearsome than I had expected. Standing at an unnatural seven and a half feet, he was a tusked swine with a heavy build and a short stature. Clothed with the fur of several grizzly bears, the bloody belt around his waist made of recently treated cow hide, he reminded me of the nomads of the northern mountains. A large axe, crafted with sharpened granite, was latched to his back; several knives adorned his waist. His face was round; his chapped thin lips supported by a double chin; his skin a pale pink. His most notable feature, however, was the large scar – starting at his left temple and running jagged across his face, crating am opening across his pushed-in snout, and dying just below his right cheek. Beady, red eyes narrowed, his lips curled into a disapproving scowl as he regarded our presence. "You're supposed to be dead," he spat, saliva shooting through the air and landing on unleveled ground.

Soran idly looked to him, his grin oddly carefree. "Ah yes," he replied, "and you're not supposed to exist at all yourself, not that I said anything." Reaching across to an adjacent chair, he patted it lightly. "Please, it would be such an honour if you would come and sit with us."

The Messenger's face scrunched together, the scar zigzagging across his features.

"Oh, it's quite all right," the cougar quickly justified. "You see, unlike you, I am quite straight forward with my intentions." He took a quiet sip of his drink. "When I say I'm going to kill you, I mean it."

Gruul gave him a hefty laugh. "You obviously fail to understand your position here." He took a heavy step forward. "This is only the end of the world for you, cougar – for me, it is only the beginning. Don't think you can drag me to hell with you."

His cup was raised absentmindedly in a mockery toast. "We're already in hell. I've succeeded that far." Turning to me, he held a goofy smile as he apologized. "Please excuse me, Ero, but I intend to get quite messy with this. It is an obligation of mine to see things through."

Before either I could reply or the swine could mock him, Soran pulled out the gun without even a blink and shot Gruul twice in the chest. A gasp sounded from his fat lips as he stumbled back, watching in shock as the water discharge burnt through his skin and burrowed itself in his rib cage. The cougar took his time getting up, discarding the gun thoughtlessly onto the table – the impact knocking over several of the bowls' contents – as he did. "I hope I've caught your attention now, Gruul," he muttered while pleasantly taking the last long gulp of his drink before tossing the cup behind him, "because I really want to tell a story. I'm sure you've heard it before, but I… feel that you need a reminder of sorts." I somehow was able to get onto my feet as Soran began to move across the room in an intense, almost zombie-like fashion. His bone-sword, grasped tightly in his right hand, dragged through the dirt and grime. I like to think that before coming into Hell I would have made some sort of attempt to stop him, but the sight of one of Keita's own dying was far too satisfying to pass up.

"It starts in the fabulous land of Babylon, or Hell to those who know it. Prisoners were brought from across the world to be physically tortured, mentally mutilated, and ultimately killed –all for the worthlessness of a Dream World for a madman and his love. And this particular swine, this disgusting pig of a man, would walk into the Cells each day with this… this sickening grin on his pudgy little face –!" The bone-sword trailed across Gruul's exposed scar, the dead tissue attaching itself to the tip as he pulled it roughly across his face. "Dragged two prisoners screaming out of that last, horrible… lovely haven. Laughed at their cries, mocked their pleas. Threw them into a room where one was torn apart by devils of Underworld, the other forced to their –." His last word was murdered by the swine's shriek of pain as Soran latched his claw onto the burn skin of his chest. There was a swing taken by Gruul but missed. The cougar ignored this and looked back to me with dilated pupils and licking his lips. "He had the nerve – the nerve – to actually strike up a deal with Slacks so the prisoners would – ha, hear this – the prisoners would cooperate!" He twisted his fist past the rib cage, his expression not changing with the pig's screams. I watched in near fascination. "For such a long time," he said while slowly shaking his head, "you needed him. And you hated him. The prisoners revered him as a messiah. You struck a deal, Gruul, but upon hearing blasphemy from Atreyu, you decide that you can just throw him to the gallows. I am not a forgiving man. I do not take any sort of betrayal, even your pathetic promise, lightly."

As he secured his fingers around the swine's loudly beating heart and Gruul gave his last cry, the world went white. The scream echoed softly, like a whisper to a newborn. My vision blurred and my pulse halted to a painfully slow pace as I looked upon a transparent tree, ascending above the light purple sky, leaves scarping the stars, and placed delicately at its trunk a bushel of black, dead roses. My lungs locked up, my choking silent. My heart pumped once as my eyes glanced slowly, carefully to the left to find nothing, to the right to find nothing. Pumped again while looking to the sky, purple instead of blue. One more as I noticed the sun and stars coexisting.

Just as I chocked my last breath, the vision faded, throwing me back into reality. I gasped for air as heart sped and my vision came back to me. Gruul was slumped against the door, his eyes wide and looking to the sky. Soran's arm was covered in black blood as he stood, a bit dumbfounded, before the dead body.

"What," I gasped, "just happened?"

"The Dream World," he muttered. "It's almost here."

* * *

Amy's POV 

I lightly grasped my throat as I pushed for air to flow through my lungs. Blood and scented flowers ran through my nostrils, though after a few seconds, only the former remained. My heart flickered quickly, signaling that, despite almost dying in a vision of a tree and dead roses, I was still somehow alive.

"Looks like we have less time than I thought," the panther muttered quietly, his panting echoing painfully through my pulsing ears. I gulped a large amount of air as I glanced over to him; however, my vision was distracted when I directly followed his lead to focus to the Prophetess.

She sat awkwardly in her seat, her fingers painfully tightening around the rounds of the armrests, with her mouth slightly gaped in surprise. Her breath patterns where erotic and spontaneous, much worse than the General's or my own, and her hair was ruined with sweat. "No," she mumbled to herself. She did not even have the strength to shake her head. "This is… not… supposed to…" Shivers racked her. "Something is wrong. Paradise is not supposed to…"

"Affect you like this?" Rais asked impatiently. "You're right, it's not. Not if you're a member of it."

"Master has done something wrong!" Fleur cried panicked. She attempted to stand up, but landed directly back in her seat in an even more discomfited position than before. Her knuckles began to show bright blue veins. "I am included! Master would never –." Her rant was interrupted by what looked like a very painful revelation. "He… Master…"

I took a step forward, hoping to use her state of confusion to our advantage. "He has lied to all of us, Fleur. To these people, to the world, to _you. _Can't you see why we're here?" I planned to continue, but Rais laid a heavy hand on my shoulder and roughly pulled me back.

Her eyes fluttered, dilating in anger and raging panic. A throaty growl emerged as she hissed, "Master does not lie!" She stood up, this time succeeding, grabbing her long staff from off the metallic floor of her pedestal. "You both will die! I'll deliver both of your heads and he'll, Master, he'll let me in. You'll see. It's a test, only a test." Her breath came out as ghastly hisses as she stumbled down a step or two. Her sight flickered to the door behind her. "Or perhaps… yes, I know what happened." Face scrunching up, her frown turned deadly. "He told him not take me. That little whore! His little favorite! How dare he restrict me."

"Don't go in that room, Fleur," Rais warned lowly.

"He took away my right. _My right! _He crushed everything." With a flick of her wrist, the stone door rumbled, sliding open with startling haste. She began to lumber down the steps, her fingers flexing and her breath haggard and escalating. She headed towards the door. "I deserve Paradise."

My voice cracked as I screamed, "She's going to kill him. Do something!" I tumbled forward two steps, but the quick movement made my vision twirl.

"Don't move," he debarred tensely.

"Don't move? She's going to kill my friend!" From the look on his face, I knew he was going to repeat himself. Just as he reached out his flesh arm to grab mine, I tore across the metal floor towards the room with my hammer in hand. The metal walls swirled as my throat tightened with each step. I was stopped short, however, though I do not know whether it was because the General finally got a hold of my arm or the sight of the Prophetess being thrown into the air by a celestial lightning, the very life being sucked out of her.

Her staff fell onto metal, the hollow sound echoing throughout the room. A few fraught gasps vibrated lightly from her lips, but the bindings of the lightning enveloped her neck, restricting her trachea. Her lips became pale, the bright trickle of blood that across them contrasting with their color. There was a flash of light, which bore through my irises and caused me to flip my head around, burying my face in my palms. A crash, a roar, and a hoarse scream sounded as I slowly recovered my sight. The countless, ghostly eyes of Everyone stared back at me as the body of the Prophetess, her torso twisted in sickening directions and her mouth struck open in a surprised gasp, laid bloodied and dead in its extended mouth.

A moment passed, the only sound the clicking of the Machine drearily in the background, and then, with a jolt, Everyone attacked.

With a rough tug, I tumbled to the floor, the head and neck of Everyone flying over me as it lunged into the open, crying in frustration when it realized only the Prophetess was still hanging in his teeth. The multitude of eyes on its underside dilated and focused in. Just when the monster shrunk back to get another bite, we rolled out from underneath and, skidding across the floor, gained out balance and began to run. But as we rounded the corner of the Prophetess' platform, we were met with hundred of crystallized soldiers, thought to be killed by poison.

I stepped back, stumbling slightly, as I grasped the handle of my hammer. Veins grew slowly on the metal walls, shrunken heads, shrieking in terror, popping out of them like leaves. I moved a bit to the left, closer to the General. "Stay," he muttered, fiddling with the end of his weapon. I moved closer.

Just as Everyone reared its ugly head, the crystallized soldiers roared and launched themselves towards us, and the heads on the walls spit toxins, darkness enveloped us. At first I thought I had fainted, but I caught sight of the General and soon I was choking on my own breath as we fell into nothing. I had fallen into seemingly endless abyss before, but the intensity of the darkness told me that, perhaps, I really could be falling forever. To die by strangulation in the shadows of my own mind. But just as I began to choke not only from invisible forces but also my own spit, we were dropped, with intense speed, towards a suddenly-appearing ground. I landed back first.

"He could have let us fall a little nicer," I muttered to myself, regaining my composure before I attempted to sit up. Bodies and blood-drenching diamonds covered the round craven. I had not been expecting a reply, but when I looked to the General, his gaze was on something completely different than mine. He jumped to his feet, the spine in his hand flopping against the ground as he gripped it tightly.

It was when I gained the courage to look over my shoulder that Keita said, "Welcome, welcome, both of you. I've been counting the minutes."

I staggered to my feet, my hammer hanging in dead, trembling fingers. My blood immediately became frozen crystals, chilling me despite the heat in the air. Dropping like a rock in my stomach, I began to feel nauseous, the room becoming hazy. I was frozen silent in blinding violent fear. My eyes were drawn to the ruff of orange and red fur Keita was holding almost carelessly in his right hand. I narrowed my eyes momentarily, trying to understand. "Tails!" I cried.

"Oh, don't worry, my darling, don't worry," the looming figure said, a bloodied grin on his face. "I would never _truly _hurt any of you, no, no, not my favorite people."

He twisted Tails towards me, his body like a rag doll he flopped in his grasp, limps going in all directions, torso twisted, head gushing blood. Tears glazed my eyes. "What have you done to him?"

"Taught him a valuable lesson. That's what you do with the people you love." Keita licked his lips, his eyes flashing with excitement as he looked to Tails and then to me. He grinned, shadows covering the curves of his face. "I love you all."

* * *

The chapter in which Keita raises himself to divinity, Tails tells a lie and faces the consequences, Soran executes an object of his revenge, Ero hears a fairytale, Amy witnesses a shocking death, Rais has less time than he thinks, Meep is nowhere to be found, and Ai is slandered. 

Um, just so everyone doesn't freak out, Tails isn't dead. Just… really handicapped at the moment. Yeah. Won't be getting up for a while. Stupid move by him.

Sorry this chapter took so long. Okay, so long is an understatement, but I just haven't had the time to write in the past few months. I'm not going to make a date for the next chapter's appearance, because quite frankly, I don't know when that is going to be. Thanks for reading.

Note for Kayla – I am going to reply to your email, I swear! My email account has been acting up, though, and I'm wrapping up on your critique. So expect it in a few days.

Strangely around,

Kelsey


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